Intercultural mediator in health-care services

Community health workers are professionals who are members of the community they work, and form part of a health human resources team. Their mission is to bridge between the health care and information services and the community in order to improve the flow of information, initiatives and resources between the two parties. Similarly, they are responsible for leading health promotion activities carried out separately by each of them, or jointly.

• Perform both group and individual actions aiming to heighten the amount of health-care information and reduce the vulnerability of individuals and community to health-care problems.
• Help to explain results, treatments or prescriptions made by the medical team to help improve the patient's response.
• Offer patients the support resources provided by the local services, as well as by the community itself (associations, administrative and social welfare resources, etc.).
• Explain the diagnostic and administrative process employed by the health-care services, in order to reduce the possible negative impact that medical practices or administrative processes could have on patients who lack previous experience of health care.
• Promote and perform health-care information and aptitude development initiatives amongst groups or individuals, using belonging to the health-care services and the community (associations, houses, etc.).
• Spread the public health-care resources available amongst the community, as well as awareness of how these work (how to apply for a health card, etc.); identify particular features of each community in relation to the issue of health care in order to advocate specific actions, promote new ones and facilitate communities' access to resources and preventive measures.

• Perform tasks aiming to solve difficulties that arise owing to the cultural differences between patients and health-care staff. The aim of these activities should be to improve understanding between the health-care centre and the community.
• Translate, interpret and act as a cultural mediator on both and individual and a collective level; responsible for training health-care staff on issues related to immigration or their culture; analyse the structure of and internal processes in the service, as well as the health-care programmes and materials, in order to identify aspects that may cause difficulties for the community.
• Advise, inform and guide the immigrant population in health-care matters.
  Provide knowledge of the environment and the operation of the health-care system.
  Facilitate access and use of existing socio-sanitary resources: perform an inventory and identify resources, keep information updated, and adapt the service portfolio to needs and demands, favouring accessibility to ordinary public health-care services, and helping the management and obtaining of the corresponding health-care documentation.
• Propose joint solutions with the team and information initiatives on social, work-related and legal-administrative issues, as well as resources that may prove helpful in these areas.

• Involve actions which aim to bolster the social fabric of communities in order to reduce contextual factors which heighten people or communities' vulnerability. In this regard, the tasks they perform include improving the channels of information for communities in order to facilitate contact between the health-care services and people (present programmes, raising awareness, creating forums, etc.).
• Provide support and lead community initiatives to boost the social fabric of communities, thereby creating more stable care networks with better links with the health-care services.
• Foster contact between the different networks offering support for the population (social, health-care and educational services, etc.) in order to improve the detection and referral of possible health-care issues.
• Detect, mobilise and coordinate public service and community resources in order to address their needs.
• In the case of immigration population, provide practical information about the network of resources which cover the urgent needs when they have recently arrived at the host society. Work in active collaboration with other associations and entities.
• Include health-care on the agenda of community organizations in order to foster health-care promotion actions carried out by these groups, and facilitate communities' participation in debates on health-care needs, as well as in the design of policies and strategies aimed to address these needs.

Regulated training and graduates

• Certificat de Professionalitat de la Família Serveis Socioculturals i a la comunitat: Mediació comunitària (Nivell 3)
• Certificat de Professionalitat de la Família Serveis Socioculturals i a la comunitat: Dinamització comunitària (Nivell 3)
• Professional Training Course(s) in the field of Socio-cultural and Community Services - Advanced Level: Social Integration
• Grau: Educació social
• Grau: Treball social
• Grau: Antropologia social i cultural
• Grau: Pedagogia
• Grau: Sociologia
• Grau: Psicologia
• Grau: Traducció i interpretació

Complementary training

The issues dealt with by health workers generally related to the needs of the healthcare project (HIV-AIDS, tuberculosis, STDs, hepatitis, contraceptive methods, among others) and the needs expressed by the population of the community in question (applying for a healthcare card, the use of public health resources, rights and duties, immigration law, etc.). This non-official training is provided within the unit with the collaboration of experts in the various areas and, of course, with any frontline healthcare staff required.

In some cases, the workplace needs to have:

• Advanced knowledge and command of foreign languages and translation and interpreting techniques.
• Training conducting patient reception interviews and containment and interpersonal communication techniques.
• Basic health-care training: prevention, health-care education and medical terminology.
• Knowledge of relevant cultural features and customs in relation to the health of the groups they deal with, as well as the specific culture and idiosyncrasies of health organisations and systems.
• Specialised training in immigration and health legislation.

Where possible, people with previous experience in the healthcare field and implementing activities in a community context are recruited. Experience in projects involving groups of immigrants or of people with social issues is desirable. Experience in social public programmes is desirable. Professional experience in the tertiary sector, at NGOs or the associative network or companies that manage public services of a social nature.

Analytical thought: Level 2

Empathy: Level 3

Communication: Level 3

Flexibility and change management: Level 2

Team work and cooperation: Level 2

Customer service

Direct and personal interaction with people and relating to the public are highly-motivating activities for individuals who have an interest in the field of customer service. A focus on people and on satisfying customers' needs is key in the occupations included in this field. These jobs entail the need to know suitable techniques for attending to the public and being able to give appropriate service that is tailored to their needs and expectations. Good examples are activities which offer assistance and guidance during functions, trips or at facilities, and those which provide advice in relation to products and services.

Social community worker

Individuals related to the social/community field have an interest in working to improve people's social well-being and quality of life, as well as enhance their integration into their social, family and/or work environment. The professional activities that are common in this field include providing special support and aid to people at risk of social exclusion, designing programmes and implementing resources for the social and cultural stimulation of an area, and acting as mediators for conflict resolution in family, social or interpersonal environments. These activities involve constant interaction with people in order to improve their psychological and social well-being.

Humanities

The key interests of people who are interested in the field of humanities are studying the activity of human beings over time as well as their cultural and artistic expressions. Activities that represent this field are the creation of cultural products and the organisation of exhibitions and events, in addition to the promotion of actions for the preservation and dissemination of an artistic group. Significant knowledge of cultural, historical and linguistic heritage is required to carry out these activities.

Language and social cohesion advisors

Mediator

Job placement specialist

Professional counsellor

Migration advisor

• Work hours

  Largely determined by the organisation for which they work; can be part- or full-time.

• Salary

  Ranges from 15,025 to 21,035 euros per annum gross.

• Professional category

  Technician