The term "cultural competence" was introduced in 1989 by researcher Terry L. Cross (Seneca) and colleagues.
After the term spreads throughout academic disciplines in the 1990s, healthcare systems begin to establish guidelines in the early 2000s with standardized objectives for inclusivity and cultural competency within healthcare. Medical schools soon follow, in alignment with the belief that this kind of training will counteract "evidence of racial disparities" in health care.