Immigration contributes more than one million people each year to the United States population with minorities currently outnumbering non-Hispanic Whites within five states. Health disparities are commonly found among racial, ethnic, and uninsured populations. The literature suggests that culturally competent healthcare can improve the health and outcomes of the nation's citizens. Nursing education in the 21^st century requires a multicontextual approach. No longer can nursing educators rely on the Eurocentric pedagogy in educating today's multicultural nursing students and address the health disparities of a multicultural nation.

A quantitative descriptive study design was implemented to discover the degree of cultural competence in 25 Licensed Practical Nurses enrolled in an Associate Degree Registered Nurse program before and after the addition of a web-based learning application called The Neighborhood. Cultural competence was measured pre and post exposure to The Neighborhood using a tool specifically designed to measure cultural competence in health care personnel. Study data was gathered in a natural classroom setting, during summer semester, at the beginning and end of a Nursing Transition II course.

This study found that cultural competency scores increased in this group of nursing students after utilizing The Neighborhood. These findings indicate that further research is needed to test the effects of The Neighborhood on increasing cultural competence in nursing students.

KEY WORDS: Cultural Competence, Health Disparities, Multicontextual, Multicultural