Improving Access to Care for Patients with Limited English Proficiency
The purpose of this research project is to investigate the use of interpreter services and interpreter equipment at a medical-surgical hospital unit and meet the communication needs of Limited English Proficient (LEP) patients. The specific aims of this study are 1) To improve nursing staff usage of interpreters/equipment in order to provide effective communication with LEP patients and, 2) To enhance LEP patients understanding of their health condition, care and hospital procedures.
Rationale/Background:
Language barriers pose a great threat to effective patient communication and quality of care. According to the Sullivan Commission the number of minorities in the United States is 25%, 18% are LEP and only 10% of minorities are nurses (Pares-Avila, 2011). The imbalance of nursing staff to LEP patients may result in health care disparities because LEP patients are more satisfied and have better patient outcomes when spoken to in their same language (Pares-Avila, 2011). When nurses of same ethnic background and language as the LEP patients were assigned to them on the medical surgical unit, the nurses reported that LEP patients were nervous due to unknown procedures, lab draws and they had many questions about their plan of care and daily needs. Although there are several nurses on the unit that are bi-lingual, their language skills may not be adequate. The University of New Mexico Hospital provides training for bi-lingual individuals to become medical interpreters in order to assist in communication needs with the LEP population. There are approximately ten to fourteen LEP patients on the unit monthly but only three nurses are certified to interpret. Nursing staff that are not qualified to interpret often do not understand or utilize interpreters and/or equipment in order to effectively communicate with LEP patients.
Methods:
This is an IRB approved study that will use pre/post survey of 200 LEP hospitalized patients who were surveyed before and after nursing education on interpreter services, language interpreter policy, interpreter resources and the use of the interpreter equipment. The interpreter Language Services will also provide in-services to inform the staff of their resources and services, the survey will measure LEP communication needs and how they are met.
Outcomes achieved/documented:
In 2013 the staff were taught and in-serviced on how to call interpreters and how to use the equipment. In 2014 the Interpreter and Language Services reported that there were 207 telephonic interpretations and four video interpretations from January to June. This research project will include re-educating the staff and conducting a pre-post survey to investigate if interpreter usage will increase and result in effective communication with the LEP population.
Conclusions:
Nursing staff were taught how to implement interpreter services for patients on a medical/surgical unit and are using the equipment to communicate with LEP patients. The nursing staff are improving patient satisfaction, minimizing unnecessary medical procedures and improving health care outcomes of the LEP population in the unit.