The Universal Language of Health Care

    The United States is known as sort of a "melting pot" when it comes to the diversity of our population, but language barriers are still a major issue in many health care settings and institutions. This, along with many other social determinants of health, can impact the quality of care that a patient receives. Language barriers make communication much more difficult, and comprehension is an issue on both sides of the interaction. The provider could misunderstand the patient's concerns during a visit, or the patient could be unable to understand the instructions for a new medication or treatment that their provider is starting for them. Some studies found that among patients with a language barrier, 20% chose not to seek medical care when needed because they were worried about not being able to understand their health care provider.  

One way that health care institutions can/have tried to overcome this barrier is through the use of virtual or in-person translator services. Studies have found that implementation of these services improves satisfaction of both patients and health care providers to over 90% on average. Though they are extremely beneficial, translator services come with their own set of issues, including accessibility and financial implications. Interpreter services can be expensive to implement, in part due to the variety of people who need to be employed to speak the multitude of languages required in a diverse community. 

The hospital where I work has virtual interpreter services, and I have had the opportunity to use this service on many occasions. One very small challenge that I have found with this service is that the device used is an iPad with no stand or support, which means that I must hold the tablet facing the patient for the whole interview. Normally this isn’t a major issue, but when I need to write things down or look things up it can be a little bit of a challenge to maneuver the tablet, so the patient is still able to see the interpreter and vice versa. 

Overall, I have seen the benefits of readily available interpreter services first-hand and think that they are a great resource for patients and providers to feel more comfortable with tackling language barriers and providing quality medical care. 

Resources: 

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7201401/ 

https://journals.lww.com/nursingmanagement/fulltext/2018/04000/Strategies_for_overcoming_language_barriers_in.7.aspx?casa_token=GMAe0cVfaWIAAAAA:tveYcALMD11Y--yIr80TPbPglSCdPNOZ3VY1bjcHk5zmHDlYqd_wllLQybwu8S3i6Q5LU4PsVVRHhn0-vxQxs0gOS5As&casa_token=iE7gkqFeB9QAAAAA:ZX3rbvGjkeudbInhurhy8g6qs7-W7Wxwx9Vz74kfJ7BMyFnJ3IZK7PKupCabd2EnkhFj-oJw3OSzyPNUwnZJXJFmq04m 



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