Development and Evaluation of a Cultural Competency Curriculum in Culinary Medicine at an Osteopathic Medical School

Culinary medicine is an emerging educational approach that bridges nutrition science and clinical practice; however, many U.S. medical school curricula lack structured training in cultural competency, a critical skill for effective dietary counseling. This study introduces and evaluates a novel culinary medicine curriculum at California Health Sciences University College of Osteopathic Medicine (CHSU-COM) that integrates cultural competency into experiential culinary education. A pre- and post-intervention survey was administered to first- and second-year medical students. The survey measured self-perceived attitudes, beliefs, knowledge, and skills related to cultural competency using Likert-scale items. Changes following course completion were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney test. Significant improvements were observed in selected measures of cultural awareness and culturally responsive nutrition counseling. Compared with pre-intervention respondents, post-intervention respondents reported greater ability to conduct evaluations involving individuals from different cultural backgrounds ( P < .001), provide culturally appropriate evaluation services ( P = .042), apply cultural knowledge and awareness in professional practice ( P = .003), and discuss nutrition evaluation from a cultural, ethnic, or racial perspective ( P = .002). Integrating cultural competency into culinary medicine education enhances medical students’ confidence and self-assessed skills in cross-cultural nutrition counseling, supporting more equitable, patient-centered care across diverse populations.