Language Diversity In The United States

It is well known that the United States is made up of several different cultures and the health care system delivers care to a very diverse population. However, depending on ones culture-receiving care may be a challenge at times. In this paper we are going to take a closer look at the culture of Hispanic Americans. The Hispanic population has grown to over 55 million residents with in the United States in 2015, with an estimated growth rate of 2.1% per year (Krogstad & Lopez, 2015). Making this minority group on of the fastest growing populations within the United States (DeNisco & Barker, 2016).

With the increasing immigrant population a third barrier affecting access to health care is a cultural barrier. Culture barriers can include values and beliefs, language and race and ethnicity. Health beliefs and behavior can become a barrier when patients decide not to seek medical treatment and instead turn to home remedies and healers when treating illnesses. Approximately 10% of Americans speak a language other than English and can be classified ad being limited in their proficiency. For these patients language becomes a barrier and they are less likely to receive optimal medical treatment (Flores, 2006). Horton and Johnson (2010) stress the importance of communication in reducing disparities and increasing the trust of patients in the health care system. As reported by the American College of Physicians, evidence reveals that racial and ethnic minorities are more likely to receive inferior care when compared with non-minorities. This occurs even when minorities have access to insurance and adequate income (Racial and ethnic disparities in health care, 2010).

It is important for policy makers to create services that are culturally sensitive since the United States is a culturally diverse country; moreover, Healthcare professionals needs to be culturally competent so that they can guide policy makers in making sustainable systems for individual communities. “Efforts to improve cultural competence among health care professionals and organizations would contribute to improving the quality of health care for all consumers” (GeorgeTown Health Policy Institutes, 2004, para 31). Language barrier is another culture issue that prevents the community from getting the care that they deserve. “Cultural and language differences and socioeconomic status interact with and contribute to low health literacy, defined as the inability to understand or act on medical/therapeutic instructions” (Shaw, Huebner, Armin, Orzech, & Vivian, 2009, p.1). There should be health policy addressing this issue because of the confusion and inappropriate treatment that many

Language contributes to health disparities because a study shows the relationship between being proficient in English and health-related behaviors, disease prevalence, and receipt of health care services among Hispanics. (DuBard, & Gizlice, 2008). Language contrition to disparities creates health issues for the Hispanic population because more than 1 in 10 US residents speak Spanish at home, and of them lack the ability to speak English well. (DuBard, & Gizlice, 2008). Being unable to speak English contributes to the everyday challenges that the

In the preparation of writing this paper, I reviewed several educational videos from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (n.d.) that show healthcare providers interacting with patients from different cultures. I chose the video that shows a Hispanic man interacting with his surgeon. I chose this video because all counties in Ohio except one are seeing increases in the Hispanic population. There has been a nine

The language barrier is a glaring problem for Hispanics in terms of accessing health care coverage for several reasons. Hispanics have far fewer Spanish speaking support systems to navigate them through the complex system that will provide them access to health care. In addition, demographically speaking, it is going to be harder for the Hispanic population to access a provider that is fluent in their language. While interpreters are sometimes available for the Spanish speaking population, they may be reluctant to use them. Primarily they may be worried that the translation will not be accurately reported to the health care provider as they don’t know what is being said in the English portion of the translation. Another possible barrier to translation is that perhaps the individual has a medical issue they do not want shared with a stranger who is not the medical provider specifically (Maxwell et al., 2011). Therefore, these issues could possibly create more barriers to quality care. Although the Affordable Care Act has increased health care coverage for low-income, uninsured Hispanics with the expansions of Medicaid, as a result of the Supreme Court ruling, this remains to be a state option. Studies show an estimated 95% of uninsured Latinos would qualify for Medicaid

2. Language: Language can have a significant impact on multiple aspects of the health care of Hispanic children, including access, health status, use of services, and outcomes. The lack of Spanish speaking health care staff and inadequate interpreter services are the principle problems associated with language barriers. Research has shown that medical interpreters are not called when needed, inadequately trained, or not available at all (Flores, Afflick & Barbot, 2002).

Documentation status can affect almost every aspect of care. An undocumented patient has the fear of deportation and this ongoing threat leads to less participation in health care safety nets. They are often exploited in their workplace, compensated poorly and may stress out a lot in searching for work on a daily basis. Facing the distressing separation from family and the fear of being deported can lead to severe mood disorders including post-traumatic stress disorder. Most foreign-born Latinos speak Spanish and less than one-fourth is fluent in English. The language barrier affects the

The members of the largest ethnic group being granted legal permanent residence in the United States are from Mexico. According the 2010 census 16.3% of the population of the United States is Latino (Spector, 2013). The Latino population will increase to 30 % of the total population by the year 2050 based on current projections (Juckett, 2013). There are several barriers to health care faced by many in the Latino population. They include: language barriers, lack of health insurance, mistrust, not have a legal status and a different culture of health care (Juckett, 2013, p. 48). Juckett also points out that most medications that require a prescription in the US are obtained without prescriptions in immigrants’ home countries (2013).

Cultural, traditional, and religious values have an influence on health patterns and behaviors exhibited by the community. Hispanic culture is dominant due to the close proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border. Fifty-two percent of households use a language other than English at home (U.S. Census Bureau, 2015). Therefore, an understanding of Hispanic culture is necessary for health care workers to effectively care for patients in this community.

Language barrier is a significant obstacle to obtaining healthcare. Many hospitals lack trained interpreters and rely on interpretation by bilingual staff or even the children of patients. Another barrier is the inability to afford health insurance. Nearly one-third of Latinos (30.7 percent) lack coverage. Another barrier stems from cultural

“Diversity is about all of us.” Diversity is what joins us all together as a whole. It is what makes up the world. It can have a positive effect on a group.

Effective communication is a two-way process of not only relaying the correct information but receiving and understanding the correct information (Tay, Ang, & Hegney, 2012). The number of persons with limited English proficiency (LEP) in the United States has increased by 80% in the past 16 years accounting for 25.2 million people or 9% of the total population (Gil, Hooke, & Niess, 2016). This presents a communication challenge for the healthcare provider when the LEP patient presents for medical care. Communication barriers can interfere

One-hundred-and-forty-three Latino patients’ families filled out pre-test questionnaires one month prior to the training start date to assess satisfaction with their provider. They also completed questionnaires regarding their English proficiency. Participating physicians filled out a measure for their use of interpreters during appointments. The questionnaire consisted of closed-ended items to which patients responded using a 5-point Likert scale. The same questionnaires were provided as a post-test measure one month following the 10 weeks of training. Additionally, participating physicians filled out questionnaires after each patient appointment to measure their use of interpreters.

I chose adults with languages barriers because I’m living in El Paso, Texas, where close the border New Mexico, Arizona, Mexico, too. So there are so many people who have language barriers, especially Spanish. I can see anywhere the people, who cannot speak English also, they needed help to translate. If they have language barriers, there is limited access to health care. With this reason and several references, I chose this population. My teaching plan was offer some information to this population regarding to the chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and stroke. With those reasons, I chose the populations, who have language barriers, especially Hispanic. When I interviewed the nurse regarding to get information about this population,