Abstract
The aim of our study was to identify the significant factors that must be addressed in health professions education to prepare students for contextually responsive practice. This phenomenological study used the framework of structural competence to explore the contextual factors that must be addressed in health professions education. We conducted in-depth semi structured interviews with 18 participants, five teaching faculty, nine who served in leadership roles in higher education, and 4 community practitioners. The participants identified contextual factors that healthcare students need to know to be contextually responsive providers. Results show that healthcare students must be knowledgeable of cultural factors that limit cross-cultural communication and trust between providers and patients as well as the understand the structural and systemic factors that impact health such as income, employment, lack of insurance, lack of transportation, the role of SDOH, and the lack of healthcare access.