Interpreter services,language concordance,and health care quality

BACKGROUND: Patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) have more difficulty communicating with health care providers and are less satisfied with their care than others. Both interpreter- and language-concordant clinicians may help overcome these problems but few studies have compared these approaches. OBJECTIVE: To compare self-reported communication and visit ratings for LEP Asian immigrants whose visits involve either a clinic interpreter or a clinician speaking their native language. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey-response rate 74%. PATIENTS: Two thousand seven hundred and fifteen LEP Chinese and Vietnamese immigrant adults who received care at 11 community-based health centers across the U.S. MEASUREMENTS: Five self-reported communication measures and overall rating of care. RESULTS: Patients who used interpreters were more likely than language-concordant patients to report having questions about their care (30.1% vs 20.9%, P<.001) or about mental health (25.3% vs 18.2%, P=.005) they wanted to ask but did not. They did not differ significantly in their response to 3 other communication measures or their likelihood of rating the health care received as "excellent" or "very good" (51.7% vs 50.9%, P=.8). Patients who rated their interpreters highly ("excellent" or "very good") were more likely to rate the health care they received highly (adjusted odds ratio 4.8, 95% confidence interval, 2.3 to 10.1). CONCLUSIONS: Assessments of communication and health care quality for outpatient visits are similar for LEP Asian immigrants who use interpreters and those whose clinicians speak their language. However, interpreter use may compromise certain aspects of communication. The perceived quality of the interpreter is strongly associated with patients' assessments of quality of care overall.     

Effects of limited English proficiency and physician language on health care comprehension

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of limited English proficiency on medical comprehension in the presence and absence of language-concordant physicians. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A telephone survey of 1,200 Californians was conducted in 11 languages. The survey included 4 items on medical comprehension: problems understanding a medical situation, confusion about medication use, trouble understanding labels on medication, and bad reactions to medications. Respondents were also asked about English proficiency and whether their physicians spoke their native language. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We analyzed the relationship between English proficiency and medical comprehension using multivariate logistic regression. We also performed a stratified analysis to explore the effect of physician language concordance on comprehension. Forty-nine percent of the 1,200 respondents were defined as limited English proficient (LEP). Limited English-proficient respondents were more likely than English-proficient respondents to report problems understanding a medical situation (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 3.2/confidence interval [CI] 2.1, 4.8), trouble understanding labels (AOR 1.5/CI 1.0, 2.3), and bad reactions (AOR 2.3/CI 1.3, 4.4). Among respondents with language-concordant physicians, LEP respondents were more likely to have problems understanding a medical situation (AOR 2.2/CI 1.2, 3.9). Among those with language-discordant physicians, LEP respondents were more likely to report problems understanding a medical situation (AOR 9.4/CI 3.7, 23.8), trouble understanding labels (AOR 4.2/CI 1.7, 10.3), and bad medication reactions (AOR 4.1/CI 1.2, 14.7). CONCLUSION: Limited English proficiency is a barrier to medical comprehension and increases the risk of adverse medication reactions. Access to language-concordant physicians substantially mitigates but does not eliminate language barriers.     

Effect of language barriers on follow-up appointments after an emergency department visit

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether patients who encountered language barriers during an emergency department visit were less likely to be referred for a follow-up appointment and less likely to complete a recommended appointment. DESIGN: Cohort study. SETTING: Public hospital emergency department. PARTICIPANTS: English- and Spanish-speaking patients (N=714) presenting with nonemergent medical problems. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Patients were interviewed to determine sociodemographic information, health status, whether an interpreter was used, and whether an interpreter should have been used. The dependent variables were referral for a follow-up appointment after the emergency department visit and appointment compliance, as determined by chart review and the hospital information system. The proportion of patients who received a follow-up appointment was 83% for those without language barriers, 75% for those who communicated through an interpreter, and 76% for those who said an interpreter should have been used but was not (P=.05). In multivariate analysis, the adjusted odds ratio for not receiving a follow-up appointment was 1.92 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.11 to 3.33) for patients who had an interpreter and 1.79 (95% CI, 1.00 to 3.23) for patients who said an interpreter should have been used (compared with patients without language barriers). Appointment compliance rates were similar for patients who communicated through an interpreter, those who said an interpreter should have been used but was not, and those without language barriers (60%, 54%, and 64%, respectively; P=.78). CONCLUSIONS: Language barriers may decrease the likelihood that a patient is given a follow-up appointment after an emergency department visit. However, patients who experienced language barriers were equally likely to comply with follow-up appointments.     

Effect of awareness of language law on language access in the health care setting

BACKGROUND: Federal law obligates health care providers receiving federal funding to ensure language access to limited English-proficient (LEP) individuals who cannot communicate with their provider. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether LEP individual awareness of this law improved language access through interpreter utilization. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In June 2003, a telephone survey of 1,200 Californians was conducted in 11 non-English languages. MEASUREMENTS: The survey included items on English proficiency, awareness of language law, health care utilization, and communication methods. Language access was defined as having a provider who speaks the individual's language (language-concordant) or utilizing an interpreter. RESULTS: There were 1,000 LEP participants, of whom 371 (37%) were aware of the language law. Four hundred and ninety-one (49%) of LEP participants had a language-concordant provider. Of the remaining 509 LEP participants without a language-concordant provider, 111 (22%) reported interpreter utilization in the health care setting. After controlling for age, gender, education, income, insurance status, years in the United States, health care utilization, and level of English proficiency, awareness of law was not associated with interpreter utilization (odds ratio [OR] 0.66; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.38, 1.17; P=.16), but was associated with having a language-concordant provider (OR 1.64; 95% CI 1.19, 2.26; P=.003). CONCLUSION: Awareness of language law is not sufficient to resolve language barriers for LEP individuals. Provider and organization level barriers to language access must be addressed.     

Ambulatory health services provided to low-income and homeless adult patients in a major community health center

OBJECTIVE: The homeless are more likely than other poor and vulnerable populations to manifest serious health problems. Early research focused on needs assessments of this population; current work has shifted to examine issues of access, use of health services, and barriers to care. However, current research has not examined whether model clinics designed for the homeless have created parity with their low-income domiciled peers in terms of provision of ambulatory services. Such data are increasingly in demand as managed care looms just over the political horizon as a means of providing services to low-income patients. SETTING: A major community ambulatory health center in West Los Angeles. PATIENTS: Homeless (N=210) and low-income domiciled (N=250) patients. DESIGN: A medical record review of care provided over a one-year period to homeless and low-income domiciled adult patients in a major community ambulatory health center in West Lost Angeles was conducted. Data were collected on length of visits, laboratory tests, procedures, and services, immunizations, specialty clinic referrals, medications, and travel vouchers. RESULTS: On average, homeless patients were provided with as many outside laboratory tests per patient as low-income domiciled patients (1.1 vs 1.3). Further, they returned for more visits (3.4 vs 2.9), were more likely to have had longer visits (88% vs 61%), and were provided with more laboratory tests (2.3 vs 1.7), procedures and services (3.1 vs 1.1), referrals (1.3 vs 0.7), medications (4.4 vs 3.3), and travel vouchers (0.6 vs 0.2) (allp<.01). Many of the procedures and services received by the homeless were for nonmedical assistance. Preventive health services such as tuberculosis skin tests, sexually transmitted disease (STD) screening, and Pap tests were provided to both homeless and domiciled patients at low rates. CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this study on the provision of care in a major West Los Angeles community health center indicate that homeless patients receiving care from a model program designed to address their special needs will return for follow-up visits and will utilize services at least as much as low-income domiciled patients. This work was partially funded by the National Research Service Award, Individual Fellowship of the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research (AHCPR), Rockville, Maryland. The views expressed here are the authors’ and do not necessarily reflect those of AHCPR.     

Perceived stigma reductions following participation in mental health services integrated within community-based HIV primary care

HIV stigma remains a significant challenge for individuals living with HIV disease that can adversely affect overall well-being and patterns of HIV health service engagement. Finding ways to effectively address stigma concerns is, therefore, an important consideration in the clinical management of HIV disease. This study examined changes in perceived stigma in a sample of 48 adults living with HIV disease as an outcome of their participation in a mental health services program integrated with community-based HIV primary care. Participants completed a self-report instrument that provided a multidimensional measure of perceived HIV stigma, including distancing, blaming, and discrimination dimensions. This scale was administered at the baseline mental health service visit and then re-administered at the three-month follow-up point. Study results showed reductions in self-reported perceived HIV stigma over time for the distancing (t = 4.01, p = 0.000, d = 0.43), blaming (t = 2.79, p = 0.008, d = 0.35), and discrimination (t = 2.90, p = 0.006, d = 0.42) dimensions of stigma. These findings suggest that participation in HIV mental health services may have a favorable impact on perceived HIV stigma. Implications of these findings are discussed, including possible mechanisms that might explain the observed results as well as suggested directions for future research in this area. Randomized controlled trials would represent an important next step to investigate the extent to which HIV mental health services can reduce levels of perceived HIV stigma.     

深圳市生殖道感染相关求医保健行为和医疗服务状况的定性研究

目的了解深圳市不同特征人口生殖道感染相关的保健、求医行为和服务状况，为制定干预方案提供依据。方法定性研究方法为个人深入访谈、专题小组讨论、现场观察和假扮病人。结果当地已婚育龄妇女和性服务者(CSW)深信阴道冲洗具有防病作用，并广泛使用；流动人口和CSW会首选私人诊所就医，他们不掌握区分有牌诊所和无牌诊所的技巧；性伴通知实施障碍较多；私人诊所存在医源性感染隐患。结论生殖道感染综合干预要充分考虑私人诊所与医源性感染问题，考虑脆弱人群的求医行为和过度阴道冲洗问题，同时关注性伴通知实施中的阻力和障碍。     

Discussing health care costs with patients

Escalating health care costs are affecting patients across the country. As employers and insurance companies face higher expenses, they may move to a cost-sharing strategy, which potentially increases financial burdens on patients. In this situation, physicians may find themselves serving as both medical and financial advisors for their patients. Clinical encounters in which patients experience financial hardship can be awkward and frustrating for both parties. Physicians must learn to discuss issues of affordability in a manner that builds, rather than detracts, from a therapeutic alliance. This article describes our experiences using several communication skills that can help in the discussion of health care costs with patients. The primary skill, empathic communication, which includes "we" statements and "I wish ..." statements, serves to create a platform for shared decision-making, negotiation, and a search for alternatives. In addition, it is helpful if physician offices have resource materials available and strategies identified to assist patients facing financial hardship.     

Impact of language barriers on patient satisfaction in an emergency department

OBJECTIVE: To examine patient satisfaction and willingness to return to an emergency department (ED) among non-English speakers. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey and follow-up interviews 10 days after ED visit. SETTING: Five urban teaching hospital EDs in the Northeastern United States. PATIENTS: We surveyed 2,333 patients who presented to the ED with one of six chief complaints. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Patient satisfaction, willingness to return to the same ED if emergency care was needed, and patient-reported problems with care were measured. Three hundred fifty-four (15%) of the patients reported English was not their primary language. Using an overall measure of patient satisfaction, only 52% of non-English-speaking patients were satisfied as compared with 71% of English speakers (p < .01). Among non-English speakers, 14% said they would not return to the same ED if they had another problem requiring emergency care as compared with 9.5% of English speakers (p < .05). In multivariate analysis adjusting for hospital site, age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, income, chief complaint, urgency, insurance status, Medicaid status, ED as the patient's principal source of care, and presence of a regular provider of care, non-English speakers were significantly less likely to be satisfied (odds ratio [OR] 0.59; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.39, 0.90) and significantly less willing to return to the same ED (OR 0.57; 95% CI 0.34, 0.95). Non-English speakers also were significantly more likely to report overall problems with care (OR 1.70; 95% CI 1.05, 2.74), communication (OR 1.71; 95% CI 1.18, 2.47), and testing (OR 1.77; 95% CI 1.19, 2.64). CONCLUSIONS: Non-English speakers were less satisfied with their care in the ED, less willing to return to the same ED if they had a problem they felt required emergency care, and reported more problems with emergency care. Strategies to improve satisfaction among this group of patients may include appropriate use of professional interpreters and increasing the language concordance between patients and providers.     

Healthy patients who perceive poor health and their use of primary care services

Objective:To determine what proportion of patients who have poor health perceptions are physically healthy and to explore why some patients perceive a healthy state while others perceive illness. Design:A prospective consecutive series of office patients completed the Rand Corporation’s General Health Perceptions Questionnaire, and their physicians rated their physical health. Their use of health care services was determined for the following 12 months. Setting:A rural teaching office practice. Patients:Of 243 adult patients asked to complete the questionnaire, 32 were excluded, for dementia (8), illiteracy (4), illness (8), incomplete questionnaires (6), and other reasons (6). 208 patients (86%) formed the final study group. Measurements and main results:62 of 208 patients had poor health perception scores. 39 of the 62 were rated by physicians as physically healthy and were not statistically different in physical health ratings or numbers of prescribed medications from the 146 patients who had higher health perception scores. However, these 39 patients had significantly more health-related worry, acute pain, and depression than did the other 146 patients. They also made more office visits and telephone calls and had higher total primary care charges. Conclusions:This study suggests that 21% of adult primary care patients (39 of 208) have health perceptions lower than expected for their levels of physical health. These low health perceptions are correlated with increased emotional distress and higher utilization of health care resources. Strategies to identify these patients and interventions to improve their views of their health could reduce utilization.     

State-level spending on health care and social services for people living with HIV/AIDS in the USA: a systematic review

Every year for the past decade, approximately 50,000 people have been diagnosed with HIV or AIDS in the USA, and the incidence of HIV/AIDS varies considerably from state to state. Studies have shown that health care services, most notably treatment with combination antiretroviral therapy, can help people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) live healthier, longer lives, and prevent the spread of HIV from person to person. In addition, social services, such as housing support and provision of meals, have also shown to be important for helping PLWHA adhere to antiretroviral treatment and maintain contact with health care providers for improved health outcomes. Although spending on health care and social services for PLWHA varies across the USA, the relationship between state-level spending on these services and HIV/AIDS-related outcomes is not clear. We therefore conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed literature to identify studies that explore state-level spending on health care services and/or social services for PLWHA and HIV/AIDS-related health outcomes in the USA.     

Perspectives of HIV agencies on improving HIV prevention,treatment, and care services in the USA

HIV healthcare services in the USA are made available through a complex funding and delivery system. We present perspectives of HIV agencies on improvements that could lead to an ideal system of HIV prevention, treatment and care. We conducted semi-structured interviews with representatives from 21 HIV agencies offering diverse services in Baltimore, MD. Thematic analysis revealed six key themes: (1) Focusing on HIV prevention, (2) Establishing common entry-points for services, (3) Improving information availability, (4) Streamlining funding streams, (5) Removing competitiveness and (6) Building trust. We recommend that in addition to addressing operational issues regarding service delivery and patient care, initiatives to improve HIV service systems should address underlying social issues such as building trust.     

Impact of health literacy on socioeconomic and racial differences in health in an elderly population

BACKGROUND: Differences in health literacy levels by race and education are widely hypothesized to contribute to health disparities, but there is little direct evidence. OBJECTIVE: To examine the extent to which low health literacy exacerbates differences between racial and socioeconomic groups in terms of health status and receipt of vaccinations. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. PARTICIPANTS (OR PATIENTS OR SUBJECTS): Three thousand two hundred and sixty noninstitutionalized elderly persons enrolling in a Medicare managed care plan in 1997 in Cleveland, OH; Houston, TX; South Florida; and Tampa, FL. MEASUREMENTS: Dependent variables were physical health SF-12 score, mental health SF-12 score, self-reported health status, receipt of influenza vaccine, and receipt of pneumococcal vaccine. Independent variables included health literacy, educational attainment, race, income, age, sex, chronic health conditions, and smoking status. RESULTS: After adjusting for demographic and health-related variables, individuals without a high school education had worse physical and mental health and worse self-reported health status than those with a high school degree. Accounting for health literacy reduced these differences by 22% to 41%. Black individuals had worse self-reported health status and lower influenza and pneumococcal vaccination rates. Accounting for health literacy reduced the observed difference in self-reported health by 25% but did not affect differences in vaccination rates. CONCLUSIONS: We found that health literacy explained a small to moderate fraction of the differences in health status and, to a lesser degree, receipt of vaccinations that would normally be attributed to educational attainment and/or race if literacy was not considered.     

福州市城区老年人健康状况及社区卫生服务需求调查

目的 了解我市城区老年人健康状况及卫生服务需求,为福州市社区老年人卫生服务的开展和完善提供科学依据.方法 采用分层随机抽样方法,选取福州市城区3285例60岁及以上老年人进行问卷调查.结果 城区老年人的平均生活质量中等偏上,但社区老人受教育程度偏低,老年人慢性病患病率较高,患1种及以上慢性病者2134例(65.0%),且年龄越大,同时患多种慢性病的老年人所占的比例越高(P＜0.01),慢性病患病率前5位依次为:高血压、糖尿病、冠心病、骨关节病、脑卒中;老年人抑郁症状发生率高达60.3%;该区老年人对社区卫生服务总需求率为75.2%,年龄越大,所需求项目越多(P＜0.05),老年人对卫生服务需求排在前5位的是定期体检、健康教育、定期家访、保健指导、饮食指导.结论 福州市城区老年人存在不同程度的健康问题和多种卫生服务需求,应整合资源,为老年人提供多形式、多途径的社区卫生保健服务,以提高老年人的生活质量.

Abstract：

Objective To find out the health status and community health care requirement of the elderly in urban Fuzhou and to provide suggestions on how to develop and consummate the community health care for elderly. Methods With the method of stratified random sampling, 3285 elderly people aged 60 years and over were surveyed by a questionnaire. Results The average quality of life of elderly people in urban Fuzhou was above the moderate level. But education level of the elderly was low. And the prevalence rate of chronic diseases was high. There were 2134 elderly people (65.0%) who had more than one chronic disease. The older the people, the higher proportion the coincidence of multiple diseases (P＜0.01). The first five chronic diseases in the elderly were hypertension, diabetes, coronary heart disease, arthropathy and stroke. The incidence rate of depression was high up to 60%. The requirement rate of community health care was 75.2%, and the older the people, the more items they needed(P＜0.05). The requirement of community health care at the first 5 rank position were regular physical examination, health education, regular home visiting, health direction and diet direction. Conclusions Elderly people have many health problems and requirements of community health care.We should provide more and more community health care, in order to improve the quality of life of elderly people.     

Factors associated with establishment-based female sex workers accessing health care services in Shanghai

Female sex workers are a priority population for HIV prevention and health promotion in China. This paper examines the patterns of and factors associated with the utilisation of HIV-related and general health services by establishment-based sex workers in Hongkou District, Shanghai. Participants were recruited through a three-stage sampling strategy and invited to self-complete a brief survey in 2012. The median age of the 400 participants included in the analyses was 33 years (range = 18–52 years old), with over three-quarters being married at the time of the survey. Participants were mostly internal migrants, more than half had lived in Shanghai for six months or longer and nearly two-thirds were working in an establishment with a total of less than five female sex workers. Routine physical examination and HIV testing were the most commonly accessed health services in the previous 12 months. Altogether, 347 women (86.8%) had actively sought, including 157 women had obtained, free health services mainly from local Community Health Service Centres (CHSCs) in the previous 12 months. The active seeking of free, largely CHSC-provided health services was associated with a longer duration of residence in Shanghai (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 2.55, 95% CI = 1.32–4.93; p < 0.01) and having tested for HIV in the previous 12 months (AOR = 3.68, 95% CI = 1.84–7.38; p < 0.001). Conversely, a higher annual income (AOR = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.21–0.80; p < 0.01), working in a larger establishment (AOR = 0.40, 95% CI = 0.20–0.79; p < 0.01) and knowing that HIV can be transmitted through blood transfusion with unscreened blood (AOR = 0.21, 95% CI = 0.05–0.91; p < 0.05) were associated with not actively seeking such services. Free, community-based health services are highly demanded by establishment-based female sex workers in Shanghai. Scaling-up of free and integrated health services provided by community-based health service providers in metropolitan areas in China and beyond holds promise for promoting health and well-being of female sex workers.