Patient Caregiver Perspectives on Accessing Language Interpretation in a Pediatric Emergency Department

Patients and caregivers with a language for care other than English (LOE) are at risk for inequitable care in the pediatric emergency department (ED). Professional interpretation (PI) improves outcomes, but there can be complexity in determining optimal language for care and interpretation need. Our...

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Main Authors: Emily A. Hartford, Nicholas Dimenstein, Dwight Barry, K. Casey Lion
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Mary Ann Liebert 2024-12-01
Series:Health Equity
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Online Access:https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/heq.2024.0010
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author Emily A. Hartford
Nicholas Dimenstein
Dwight Barry
K. Casey Lion
author_facet Emily A. Hartford
Nicholas Dimenstein
Dwight Barry
K. Casey Lion
author_sort Emily A. Hartford
collection DOAJ
description Patients and caregivers with a language for care other than English (LOE) are at risk for inequitable care in the pediatric emergency department (ED). Professional interpretation (PI) improves outcomes, but there can be complexity in determining optimal language for care and interpretation need. Our goal was to learn more about the perspectives from caregivers who speak different languages regarding interpretation with a survey near ED discharge. Caregivers of patients with LOE, identified during ED check-in, were approached by research staff using PI near ED discharge. A survey was completed via interpreter or bilingual research staff prior to discharge or by phone within 48 h. Answers were entered into REDCap and analyzed descriptively. A total of 154 participants were approached; 49 completed a survey between April and November 2021. A variety of languages were spoken in the sample (n = 15) and represented the ED population. Twenty percent of caregivers with LOE also reported good comprehension in English. Families indicated a desire for interpretation at various stages of the ED encounter, reported different interpretation needs among family members, and indicated interest in family-initiated interpreter access. Determining optimal language for care and provision of PI during ED encounters can be complex. In this study, we report caregiver perspectives on the use of PI. Most participants wanted PI at all stages of the ED visit and were interested in accessing it themselves. Future directions are to pilot family-initiated access to PI to tailor its use to the needs of patients and families.
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spelling doaj-art-7c62b4f7090a41ce9974c67632d45eb72025-08-20T01:49:56ZengMary Ann LiebertHealth Equity2473-12422024-12-018164865310.1089/heq.2024.0010Patient Caregiver Perspectives on Accessing Language Interpretation in a Pediatric Emergency DepartmentEmily A. Hartford0Nicholas Dimenstein1Dwight Barry2K. Casey Lion3Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Seattle Children’s Hospital, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA.Division of Emergency Medicine, Children’s National Hospital, George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.Clinical Analytics, Seattle Children’s Hospital, Seattle, Washington, USA.Division of General Pediatrics; and Seattle Children’s Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Center for Child Health, Behavior, and Development, University of Washington School of Medicine, Seattle, Washington, USA.Patients and caregivers with a language for care other than English (LOE) are at risk for inequitable care in the pediatric emergency department (ED). Professional interpretation (PI) improves outcomes, but there can be complexity in determining optimal language for care and interpretation need. Our goal was to learn more about the perspectives from caregivers who speak different languages regarding interpretation with a survey near ED discharge. Caregivers of patients with LOE, identified during ED check-in, were approached by research staff using PI near ED discharge. A survey was completed via interpreter or bilingual research staff prior to discharge or by phone within 48 h. Answers were entered into REDCap and analyzed descriptively. A total of 154 participants were approached; 49 completed a survey between April and November 2021. A variety of languages were spoken in the sample (n = 15) and represented the ED population. Twenty percent of caregivers with LOE also reported good comprehension in English. Families indicated a desire for interpretation at various stages of the ED encounter, reported different interpretation needs among family members, and indicated interest in family-initiated interpreter access. Determining optimal language for care and provision of PI during ED encounters can be complex. In this study, we report caregiver perspectives on the use of PI. Most participants wanted PI at all stages of the ED visit and were interested in accessing it themselves. Future directions are to pilot family-initiated access to PI to tailor its use to the needs of patients and families.https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/heq.2024.0010health equityinterpretationemergency care
spellingShingle Emily A. Hartford
Nicholas Dimenstein
Dwight Barry
K. Casey Lion
Patient Caregiver Perspectives on Accessing Language Interpretation in a Pediatric Emergency Department
Health Equity
health equity
interpretation
emergency care
title Patient Caregiver Perspectives on Accessing Language Interpretation in a Pediatric Emergency Department
title_full Patient Caregiver Perspectives on Accessing Language Interpretation in a Pediatric Emergency Department
title_fullStr Patient Caregiver Perspectives on Accessing Language Interpretation in a Pediatric Emergency Department
title_full_unstemmed Patient Caregiver Perspectives on Accessing Language Interpretation in a Pediatric Emergency Department
title_short Patient Caregiver Perspectives on Accessing Language Interpretation in a Pediatric Emergency Department
title_sort patient caregiver perspectives on accessing language interpretation in a pediatric emergency department
topic health equity
interpretation
emergency care
url https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/heq.2024.0010
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