The Importance Of Language Barriers In Hospitals

Establishing effective communication with the patient is a critical factor in promoting patient quality care. Good communication is fundamental when providing safe and effective care at the beside in order to increase the quality of patient care. One of the many communicative barriers that exists between patients and the healthcare team are language barriers. Language barriers are considered an initial problem of translation or code-switching. Individuals who speak different languages require a certain code breaker in order to facilitate effective communication (Gregg & Saha, 2007). Furthermore, language barriers may hinder the quality of patient care and interfere with optimal clinical outcomes. According to Happ et al., 2011, nurses have the unique responsibility to engage in communication with patients and have control over the timing and method of communication. Evidenced based interventions such as communication boards are needed to improve nurses’ communication skills in order to achieve effective communication.

Can you imagine the how the healthcare industry would be without language, what seems to be impossible to imagine is the everyday reality of some patients because of their native language. Language is a major contribution to the health disparities that some populations face, because it makes it difficult for some patients to communicate their problems as well as understand the care they provided. Language contributes to the health disparities that some populations face because it creates a barrier between the patient and the care provider, making it difficult for a patient to receive proper care. Language barriers create a communication gap between a patient and a provider, forcing the patient to feel misunderstood and unable to trust his/her provider to properly care for them. I come from a family that speaks more than one language, so I have seen the impact language barriers can have on someone who doesn’t speak fluent English.

According to the 2011 U.S. Census, twenty-one percent of the population speaks other language at home besides English. Hence, one of the biggest challenges in Healthcare is the language barrier between the providers, Health care administrators and patients that speak foreign languages. This poses a challenge for medical entities,

Non-English speaking citizens and immigrants are receiving improper medical care because of the miscommunication. The people who cannot speak English well are misunderstood, when they go to free clinics or hospital emergency rooms and attempt to explain their symptoms and illness or cannot understand the doctors or medical profession that are trying to help them. ” Interpreters are omitting questions about drug allergies. Patients are not telling nurses the correct symptoms. A mother misunderstood by putting oral antibiotic into the ears of the child instead of the mouth. The Puerto Rican word for mumps is not the same in Central America, so a child was mistreated. A doctor mistakenly told a parent to put a steroid crème on entire child instead of just the face” (Yolanda Prtida, 2005). Language barriers in the medical field are dangerous and some times even fatal. There is definitely a need for more translators in hospitals and doctors office. Clear communication is essential for safe quality healthcare. Poor communication can lead to disastrous outcomes, especially for patients with limited or no English ability.

Many people have seen the increase of immigrants coming to the United States. “Census 2000 measured a U.S. population of 281.4 million, including 1.2 million who reported and Arab ancestry” (de la Cruz and Brittingham, 2000). Arab Americans are those people who speak or are descendents of Arabic-speaking populations. As doctors and caregivers continue to provide care to those that speak English, communication between them is easy. But when this simple task is changed when there is a patient from a different culture, it produces challenges that both parties have to overcome. Doctors and caregivers have to increase their cultural awareness and sensitivity so that there is a good

Language Barrier: Communication can be difficult if English is not the resident’s first language. Highfield Healthcare should look at employing bilingual staff to overcome this problem.

Language is one social and cultural barriers that may have made it difficult for the doctors to communicate with Jessica’s family. It creates the trust that exists between a patient and a doctor and their guardians. When using a translator, meanings may change and the desired communication result may not be achieved. The trust that should exist between the doctor and the patient and the guardians

(2013) discussed the issue of lack of english skills being a primary barrier for patients receiving adequate health care. The article also mentions how studies have shown that Spanish speaking Latinos are less satisfied with the health care that they received in determine whether comparison to their English speaking counterparts. The purpose of the study was to Spanish speaking Latinos have an increased quality of care when provided with an interpreter during their visit. The population for the study was 30 patients in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, whose primary language was spanish. The intervention implied that the use of interpreters will improve the quality of healthcare received by non english speaking patients. The comparison aimed at urging providers to make an effort to provide legally appropriate care to patients who are unable to speak english. The outcome of the study was that miscommunication between healthcare workers can end up causing medical mistakes and liabilities. It was found that when facilities provided patients with interpreter services, the patient perception of quality care was

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).

Unfortunately, the world we live is a far cry from perfect. We have all types of barriers and roadblocks that we must face and attempt to overcome on a daily basis. When dealing with healthcare, these barriers and roadblocks can be much scarier – and in some cases even deadly. These barriers are not limited to only language, but also to differences in cultures as well.

Effective communication with patients is critical to the safety and quality care. From the last two decades ,number of researches has been conducted on the impact of language barrier on health and healthcare. It is observed that language barriers are the main cause of medical errors, complication and adverse event. But due to data limitations ,limited researches on impacts of language barrier has been conducted in Canadian setting. However, the researches conducted on other countries on the impact of language barrier on quality of care is applicable in the Canadian context. Some researches shows that there are several barrier which affect quality of care and patient safety. Now, researches has begun to know the complexity of language, culture, race, health literacy that may affect patient care. Current approaches are moved towards the knowledge of risk of language barrier rather than implementation of effective, evidence informed strategies.

Some practical obstacles that hinder the delivery of proficient and economical services include differences in language, cultural and knowledge of health issues. However, the prudent advanced practice nurse (APN) considers these obstacles to communication when providing patient-centered care. Nevertheless, when language barriers are not addressed, the provision of quality care to patient and families are undermined, which then transcends to both economic and ethical dilemmas. According to the centers for disease control and prevention (CDC, 2016), the gateway to healthcare is often hindered to a great extent by the lack of the ability to communicate medical necessities due to language barrier. In any clinical setting, efficient patient communication is essential in the delivery and accessibility of quality care and safety.

Cultural and linguistic competence is an essential component in the work towards addressing and eliminating health disparities because it will allow everyone to truly understand exactly what the problem is and have common goals. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, definition of linguistic competence is “the capacity of an organization and its personnel to convey information in a manner that is easily understood”. This means that everyone is on an equal level if they are illiterate, speak a different language, have a disability, etc. Treatment is half of healthcare, but the interactions between doctors and patients is the other half, and arguably more impotent. Patients will be less likely to follow the instructions their physician gives them if they do not feel respected. It is a fact that black and Latinos

To communicate seems easy enough to most of us. We have been doing this from the moment we were born. We expressed ourselves with grunts, moans, crying, smiling and yelling. We started communicating even before we made words with our nonverbal forms of communication. Communication is important. It allows individuals to share information and messages in the form of ideas and feelings (Giger, 2013). It gives us direction and allows us to interact with others. Can you image getting the entertainment system in parts in the mail with no instructions as to how to put it together? It is essential that we all communicate effectivity in order to ensure the best quality of care. Language barriers threaten the patient safety and overall quality of care of these individuals. By having efficient practices in place it will lower those risks and increase quality care.

One of the greatest things about nursing is that we have the opportunity to share with different cultures and learn about them. Our patients are complex; they each have their religion, culture, and life choices. Delivering health advice and not knowing much about a patient’s cultural background will influence how the patient may perceive the nurses’ advice. The article that I did my research on was published in 2011, by Perez-Avila, Sobralske and Katz; the name of the article is “No Comprendo: Practice Considerations When Caring for Latinos With Limited English Proficiency in the United States Health Care System”. In the United States, Hispanics form the largest minority. Most of this community has limited English