Are Language Barriers Associated With Serious Medical Events in Hospitalized Pediatric Patients?

Abstract

Spanish-speaking patients whose families have a language barrier seem to have a significantly increased risk for serious medical events during pediatric hospitalization compared with patients whose families do not have a language barrier.

Patterns of Interpreter Use for Hospitalized Patients with Limited English Proficiency

“…"Getting by" without language assistance for these encounters may negatively impact the care of patients with LEP, and could have significant clinical consequences. 18,19 Interestingly, patient preference for interpreter use, while slightly lower for interactions with nurses than for interactions with doctors, was high overall. Failure to use any type of interpreter for nursing encounters thus seems unlikely to represent a patient-centered decision.…”

Use of Interpreters by Physicians for Hospitalized Limited English Proficient Patients and Its Impact on Patient Outcomes

“…5,6 The Institute of Medicine report Crossing the Quality Chasm states that the use of an interpreter is not only a quality, but also a patient safety imperative. [7][8][9][10] Most studies to date have focused on the impact of interpreters in the outpatient and emergency department (ED) settings. 11,12 Few studies have explored the relationship between in-hospital physician use of interpreters and patient outcomes measured by length of stay (LOS) and readmission rates.…”

Evaluation of a Quality Improvement Intervention to Increase Use of Telephonic Interpretation

“…1 Language barriers in the health care setting are associated with increased cost, 2 decreased satisfaction 3,4 and adherence, 5,6 variation in testing and diagnosis, 2,7 and increased serious adverse events. [8][9][10][11] Both in-person and telephonic professional medical interpretation effectively mitigate the risks associated with language barriers, [12][13][14] but underutilization of professional interpreters is widespread. [15][16][17][18][19] Many providers choose to "get by" with nonproficient language skills, 20 Dr Lion conceptualized and designed the study, performed the analyses, and drafted the manuscript; Dr Ebel assisted with study design, participated in analysis planning and interpretation, and reviewed and critically revised the manuscript; Ms Rafton and Ms Hencz contributed to study design and reviewed and provided critical input on the manuscript; Dr Zhou provided critical input on study design and analysis, and reviewed and revised the manuscript; Dr Mangione-Smith participated in study design, contributed to analytic planning and interpretation of results, and critically revised the manuscript; and all authors approved the final manuscript as submitted.…”