Cultural Competence for Hazards and Disaster Researchers: Framework and Training Module

In the early 1960s, Moore (1964) developed the concept of “disaster subculture” to describe the adjustments that survivors make in response to disasters. Yet, despite its significance in shaping the social world, culture has remained largely overlooked and undertheorized in hazards and disaster research (Oliver-Smith and Hoffman 2002; Button 2010; Browne 2015). Moreover, culture remains underutilized as an explanatory variable in the field (VanLandingham 2017). This neglect of culture as a factor to be studied in disasters has had severe consequences for research and practice, ranging from one-dimensional research designs to stalled recovery efforts (Hoffman 2013; Browne 2015).

When researchers enter communities that are at risk of or recently affected by disasters, it is crucial that they remain aware of their cultural surroundings and recognize that their own cultural worldviews, perspectives, and beliefs shape who they study, what they study, and how they conduct research (Goodman and West-Olatunji 2009; Kulich et al. 2020; Wu 2021). Furthermore, dramatic cultural changes—such as movements for racial justice at one end of the spectrum or shifts toward authoritarian and anti-democratic regimes at the other end—can profoundly influence the contexts in which disaster researchers do their work (Cruz et al. 2020; Shanga 2020). Culture matters in hazards and disaster research. But contradictory forces have long complicated the efforts of hazards and disaster researchers to develop cultural competency. On the one hand, perishable disaster data must be collected quickly before it disappears (Wartman et al. 2020). On the other hand, the process of understanding a community’s culture and subcultures as well as building rapport and trust with residents is usually slow (Alaniz 2017). In addition, disaster researchers, like researchers of other sensitive topics, often engage with people experiencing or recalling some of the worst moments of their lives. Researchers lacking cultural competence who appear suddenly seeking sensitive information and then vanish once they have acquired it may be seen as unsavory disaster voyeurs or as unethical practitioners betraying professional obligations (Gaillard and Peek 2019; Tierney 2019).

There is a need for additional guidance to help close the culture gap in hazards and disaster research. As a start, this technical note proposes a framework and describes a training module designed to address the unique challenges facing hazards and disaster researchers working in cross-cultural settings. We argue that building cultural competence—including understanding what it is and how to cultivate it—can ultimately promote more just and ethical research, improve the research experiences of participants, enrich the quality of the data collected, and enhance the overall quality of the study.

Culture has long been of interest to social and behavioral scientists. Early efforts conceptualized culture as a set of customary beliefs, values, conventions, social practices, and material traits found in societies (Tylor 1871). The term cultural competence was coined by Terry Cross (1988) as part of a monograph on providing appropriate care to children of color with severe emotional issues. Later, Cross et al. (1989) laid the groundwork for cross-cultural mental health interventions by clarifying and expanding the definition of cultural competence as “a set of congruent behaviors, attitudes, and policies that come together in a system, agency, or among professionals and enable that system, agency, or those professions to work effectively in cross-cultural situations” (p. iv). Following on this foundational work, social and behavioral scientists, business professionals, social workers, and healthcare providers have developed their understandings of cultural competence and how it can be applied in different organizational contexts (Angrosino 1978; Pedersen and Marsella 1982; Wright 1998), influence interactions between customers and businesses (Johnson et al. 2006), reshape service provider-client relationships (Ladha et al. 2018), and address long-standing societal inequalities (Kulich et al. 2020).

Subsequent scholarship has also extended early definitions of cultural competence. Tardif (2006), for example, argued that cultural competence should be conceptualized as a complex knowledge-to-action enterprise and an ongoing learning process, which is built on the cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and environmental aspects of a person and/or a group within and/or across cultural contexts. Others have claimed that applying culturally competent knowledge and skills in community-based practice supports “diverse community segments” (Rosen et al. 2010, p. 221) that “value diversity and reflect effective practice across cultures” (Ball et al. 2010, p. 121). Recent scholarship has encouraged researchers and practitioners to consider the importance of cultural humility as an enhancement or even alternative to cultural competence, whereby professionals are encouraged to engage in a lifelong process of self-reflection and self-critique where one learns about one’s own and other cultures (Danso 2018; Fisher-Borne et al. 2015; Yeager and Bauer-Wu 2013).

Although most available literature focuses on cultural competence in the context of service provision, there have been recent calls for hazards and disaster researchers also to develop a range of cultural competencies to enhance the quality of research and its applications (FEMA 2019; Knox and Haupt 2015; Wu et al. 2020b; Sweet 2018). In response to these calls, we conducted a systematic review of the cultural competence literature (Wu et al. 2020a), drawing primarily from domains outside the hazards and disaster field due to a paucity of literature that explores cultural competence in hazards and disaster research and practice. The literature undergirds the framework presented in this paper and serves as the basis for a free online training module for hazards and disaster researchers. The module described briefly below is designed to support researchers in building cultural competence in their own work and is offered through the National Science Foundation-supported CONVERGE facility headquartered in the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder (Peek et al. 2020b).

Beginning with strategies adapted from the Campbell Systematic Reviews (Kugley et al. 2016), we generated two groups of keywords to set the boundary conditions for the literature search: Group 1: cultural competence studies (e.g., “*cultur*” AND “competen*”); and Group 2: natural hazards and disaster research (e.g., “hazard*” OR “disaster*” OR “earthquake*” OR “hurricane*”, etc.). Our search for English language journal articles, books, book chapters, and other peer-reviewed publications focused on the period from January 1, 1960, to March 20, 2018, using general and subject-specific academic databases such as Web of Science and EBSCO-host. We also employed the Google search engine to identify gray literature, including policy documents, reports, websites, and institutional repositories.

Our search process consisted of two sequential steps. In Step 1, the Group 1 terms were used to identify all literature focused on cultural competence and related topics, obtaining results from a variety of publication outlets, publication types, and scholarly disciplines. After deleting duplicate entries and nonrelevant results, our first-round screening yielded 37,192 publications. In Step 2, the Group 2 keywords specific to hazards and disasters were applied, dramatically narrowing the results to 216 publications.

We then used the following inclusion and exclusion criteria to further focus the search results. We decided only to review the literature published on or after January 1, 1988, the year when Cross’s foundational work on cultural competence was published. Due to our emphasis on the research enterprise itself and disaster research training, we also excluded articles that only explored disaster-specific cultural phenomena or cultural attributes (e.g., what is culture?). Further, we concentrated on articles that included strategies for building cultural competence among researchers or practitioners working in complex humanitarian settings. With these additional criteria applied, our final review sample included 83 relevant publications drawn from a wide variety of disciplines (see Wu et al. 2020b for the published dataset). We used content analysis techniques on this corpus of publications to identify themes, related concepts, strategies, and case study findings to build upon the framework (Papadopoulos and Lees 2002) presented here and to develop the CONVERGE training module. The module draws on the relevant literature and includes content and various case examples focusing on a range of cultures, disaster types, and geographic settings across the US and globally.

Because there is currently no available cultural competence framework specifically for hazards and disaster researchers, we focused on identifying the key conceptual elements that scholars in non-disaster-specific disciplines have identified. Drawing on the extant literature, we conceptualize cultural competence in hazards and disaster research as an ongoing process that contributes to an understanding of the cultural attributes of affected individuals, households, communities, and societies that researchers are attempting to characterize. A cultural competence framework can equip researchers and research teams working in disaster-affected communities with the knowledge and skills to design research, tools, instruments, and data collection and analysis protocols that are culturally and ethically grounded (Papadopoulos 2018).

The four-step hierarchical structure developed by Papadopoulos and Lees (2002)—involving a progression from cultural awareness to cultural knowledge to cultural sensitivity to cultural competence—is a foundational model that we adapted for the cultural competence training module (see Fig. 1). In the subsequent sections, we detail each of the core concepts associated with the four major steps while accounting for the unique challenges of hazards and disaster research.

Although time-consuming and difficult, we argue that it is crucial that hazards and disaster researchers and practitioners build cultural competence for the following three reasons. First, training in cultural competence can help members of our field “provide culturally safe, congruent, and effective response in partnership with individuals, families, and communities affected by hazards and disasters” (Blanchet Garneau and Pepin 2014, p. 14). This is especially important as disaster researchers may be encountering people who have had their lives and livelihoods abruptly disrupted by disaster. Second, those, who are trained in culturally-informed research, are more likely to engage in “comprehensive ethical reflection” and to enter into long-term community-based partnerships (Blanchet Garneau and Pepin 2014, p. 14). Compared to one-off cross-sectional studies, such sustained work may result in better opportunities to help reduce systemic injustices and inequalities that may only become apparent over time and as relationships deepen. Third, employing a culturally competent framework and adhering to core principles associated with “trust, inclusion, cross-cultural communication, and support for local practices and successes” enables researchers and practitioners to identify community-driven efforts to promote equity, diversity, and inclusion (FEMA 2019, p. 14).

In response to the need for additional education in the area of cultural competence, our team developed a training module focused on “Cultural Competence for Hazards and Disaster Research” (see Wu et al. 2020a). This module, which was released in March of 2020, is part of a larger series of training modules developed by the CONVERGE initiative. Core to the mission of CONVERGE is to “accelerate the education of a diverse next generation of hazards and disaster researchers” (Peek et al. 2020b, p. 9). The CONVERGE training modules are designed to ensure fundamental competency among students and others who are new to the hazards and disaster field. Each module features (1) learning objectives and lesson plans, (2) written content grounded on a comprehensive literature review, (3) case studies of current research and additional resources, and (4) a final 10-question quiz and certificate of completion for those who obtain 80% or more of the quiz responses correct (Peek et al. 2020b, pp. 9–10).

The Cultural Competence training module is organized around a set of learning objectives and includes three lessons (see Fig. 2). The first lesson summarizes available literature and defines key concepts (e.g., culture, cultural competence, and the key elements of a culturally competent approach to research). The second lesson focuses on applying cultural competence in hazards and disaster research. The third lesson supports the users in building cultural competence through training activities, individual self-reflection, organizational leadership, and an ongoing assessment of progress. The module identifies both the foundations of cultural competence and the pillars of extreme event-specific cultural competence. Before the module was released, it was reviewed by a team of graduate students and professional researchers. Because the module is published online via a Learning Management System, it can also be updated based on the publication of new studies as well as in response to user feedback.

The framework presented in the CONVERGE training module revises the stepwise model initially presented by Papadopoulos and Lees (2002) to offer a circular representation meant to capture the ongoing, dynamic, and iterative nature of building cultural competence in the context of extreme events research. Additional temporal elements are included in the training module to help researchers understand how cultural competence infuses the entire research lifecycle, from study conceptualization and design to data collection, to the presentation of findings to affected communities.

Quick response research, which is typically conducted in the immediate aftermath of disaster with the goal of collecting perishable data, is a hallmark of social science and engineering disaster research (Oulahen et al. 2020; Wartman et al. 2020; Peek and Guikema 2021). The training module acknowledges that building cultural competence is not easily achieved in such a rapid time frame. Of course, this does not mean that quick response research should be entirely abandoned since many essential lessons have been learned from these studies over the years (Tierney 2007). It does, however, require that researchers who plan to conduct such research reflect on how their personal identities and positionality might shape their study (cultural awareness), develop a basic understanding of the place and people they plan to study (cultural knowledge), and attempt to develop predisaster local partnerships to ensure the relevance of the study (cultural sensitivity). Developing such partnerships with locally affected researchers and community partners and committing to longer-term studies beyond the initial rapid investigation strengthen the cycle of cultural competence (Villarreal 2020). Online research collaboration tools (e.g., the Social Science Extreme Event Research map and Global Hazards and Disaster Research Centers map) facilitate the search for disaster research partners worldwide (Hines et al. 2020; Peek et al. 2020a).

The CONVERGE training module offers examples from the published literature to help investigators prepare and to ensure that they are aware of how the entire research enterprise is influenced by culture. In addition, through the inclusion of case studies, it demonstrates the difference that cultural competence can make in improving research outcomes. For example, a study by Nepal and colleagues (2010) of disaster preparedness needs among linguistically isolated population groups in Houston, Texas, was made possible through the training and employment of bilingual community members who facilitated focus group discussions.

As of October 2021, 619 users had successfully completed the Cultural Competence training module. In addition, we have collected pre and posttest data from users to assess changes in knowledge, skills, and attitudes after completion of this and other training modules in the series. In future work, we plan to use the Cultural Competence training module questionnaire data to evaluate the effectiveness of the module among trainees. An initial evaluation of another module in the series showed that users demonstrated a significant increase in all three measures (Evans et al. 2021).

Organizations in the US and globally that support quick response research, including the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder, the Earthquake Engineering Research Institute, and the Structural Engineering Extreme Events Reconnaissance (StEER) association, now recommend or require that researchers take this and other associated CONVERGE modules before being granted funding or invited to join reconnaissance teams. Instructors and research mentors are also now regularly assigning the modules in their classes and as part of research traineeships for undergraduate and graduate students. While we recognize that a brief training will not lead to the development of cultural competence, we do hope that it will plant the seeds for further understanding, learning, and growth. Indeed, cultural competence training is part of a broader movement to ensure that research is conducted ethically (Diener and Crandall 1978; Israel 2015), given that limited awareness of the values, beliefs, and other cultural components of the people in a research area increases the likelihood of ethical problems.

Cultural competence training can increase a researcher’s capacity to identify the power imbalances, conflicts of interest, and value dilemmas that can lead to ethical issues. As a result, the CONVERGE module serves not only as a stand-alone tool for hazards and disaster researchers, but also as a complement to research ethics courses and modules. In the long term, training hazards and disaster researchers representing communities affected by disasters will also improve the overall cultural competence of the disaster research workforce.

Because culture shapes vulnerability, inequality, and the capacity to respond to various environmental threats, hazards and disaster researchers have been called to acknowledge and respect cultural diversity in the context of emergencies (Harvard Catalyst 2010). This technical note has asserted that cultural awareness, cultural knowledge, cultural sensitivity, and cultural competence are all necessary to help improve the overall research enterprise. A free, online CONVERGE training module was developed to assist users to not only understand what cultural competence is, but also to learn how to cultivate it in the global context of hazards and disaster research.

By elaborating on the core concepts undergirding cultural competence, we hope disaster researchers and research teams, like other professionals, can equip themselves with the skills to become culturally aware and to attain cultural knowledge at both individual and community levels. With a cultural competence foundation firmly in place, hazards and disaster researchers can then move to improve their extreme event-specific cultural competence. This article recommends that building cultural competence comes to be a long-term commitment for all researchers, regardless of their professional fields or disciplines.

All data used to develop the training module are available in a repository online in accordance with funder data retention policies (https://www.designsafe-ci.org/data/browser/public/designsafe.storage.published/PRJ-2894).

This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation (Grant Nos. 1841338 and 1745611). Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.