Fostering health equity and positive outcomes in primary care involves implementing evidence-based health promotion, prevention, screening, assessment, and intervention practices tailored to diverse populations. It is crucial to address health disparities by recognizing a patient’s various social identities and their intersectionality, while engaging them in discussions to determine the most effective approaches for themselves, their family, and their community.
Cultural adaptation of evidence-based practices (EBPs) is critical to ensure relevance and effectiveness across marginalized populations, including racial and ethnic minorities, those experiencing poverty, sexually and gender diverse individuals, those in geographically isolated areas, perinatal patients, people with trauma histories, individuals with refugee status or immigration histories, and older adults. This process involves the empowerment of patients and the integration of ethnic and cultural characteristics, experiences, values, behavioral patterns, and beliefs of a given population into the design, delivery, and evaluation of targeted health interventions, protocols, and programs. Culturally adapted treatments or programs that retain the core components of an EBP can help to reduce stigma, improve access, increase engagement, and enhance outcomes.