Meet our Culture Brokers

The Cultural Broker program was co-developed in 2016 in partnership with East Side Health and Wellbeing Collaborative. Cultural Brokers help bridge cultural gaps by translating and supporting people as they navigate schools, healthcare, and other mainstream systems to ultimately build self-sufficiency. Cultural brokers provide community members with critical information and essential resources to live healthy lives in their community.

The fact that Cultural Brokers belong to the communities they serve means they can more easily build trust and can have a greater impact on the communities’ health. They are able to speak from the perspective of a relatable confidant, which can be more impactful than indirect guidance from a public official. The program is comprised of four Cultural Brokers staff of M Health Fairview located at four respective partner organizations representing different cultural communities: African American, Hispanic/Latinx, Hmong, and Karen.

Resources and opportunities that promote health are not uniformly accessible across race, age, language, socioeconomic class, sexual orientation, immigration status, gender, or ability. Studies show that people of color and American Indians face significant disparities in health status and health outcomes. In particular, language barriers and the cultural complexity of assessing symptoms can prevent adequate diagnosis and treatment for a significant number of patients, including refugees, new immigrants, and members of established ethnocultural communities. Factors such as lack of social support, trauma, economic, and educational status contribute negatively to mental health. One strategy that has been shown to be effective in combating these disparities is through Cultural Brokers.