Intercultural Health
Ireland’s increasing cultural diversity has deeply enriched our social, economic, and cultural life. But it also brings new challenges for health services seeking to meet the needs of people from varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds.
Our commitment to an intercultural approach helps ensure that healthcare is equitable, accessible, and respectful of everyone’s identity.
National Intercultural Health Strategy
- The first National Intercultural Health Strategy (2007–2012) laid strong foundations for change.
- The second strategy (2018–2023) was launched by the HSE’s National Social Inclusion Office in January 2019.
- Our role is to help embed intercultural thinking into how health and support services are planned and delivered — acknowledging and valuing the diversity of all service users.
We fund a number of partner agencies to deliver services on our behalf to service users from diverse groups.
Other Activity
Multilingual Supports & Translation
To make health services more user-friendly for people from diverse backgrounds, we prioritise:
Interpreting & Language Services
We work with stakeholders to set standards for interpreting services, ensuring best practice and cultural accuracy.
Multilingual Health Information
We translate essential health materials into multiple languages so people can access clear and relevant information — helping them navigate the health system confidently.
Information in other languages
Intercultural Awareness eLearning programme
The Intercultural Awareness eLearning programme supports staff to be aware and respectful of ethnic, cultural and religious diversity of people who use our services. The main aim of this programme is to reduce the potential harm that unconscious bias may cause. Further information is available here
Related Documents
Migrant Integration Strategy 2017 (PDF)
Second National Intercultural Health Strategy 2018-2023 (PDF)
Mental Health Reform’s “Cultural Competency Toolkit” - A practical guide for mental health professionals, services, and staff on working with ethnic minority communities in Ireland
HSE Intercultural Guide - A guide to responding to the needs of diverse religious communities and cultures in healthcare settings. Printed copies are available to order from www.healthpromotion.ie
Social Inclusion migrant health local contacts