Assessing needs for linguistic interpretation in hospital settings: A retrospective analysis of ad hoc interpreter requests

Abstract

Background: In Canada, healthcare professionals often rely on ad hoc interpreters, who are untrained volunteers recruited via intercom hospital announcements to interpret for patients with language barriers. This study analyzed the frequency of ad hoc interpreter requests via intercom announcements to estimate hospital interpretation needs. Methods: A retrospective cohort analysis from intercom requests for medical interpretation collected from five hospitals of the McGill University Health Center. Requests included date, time, language requested, hospital location, and extension for who placed the request. Results: A total of 1265 intercom requests were placed for 48 languages, with the top five languages being Mandarin (17.8%), Punjabi (10.1%), Inuktitut (9.8%), Arabic (7.3%), and Cantonese (6.4%). Almost 69.8% of requests were made during working hours, 13.2% on workday evenings, and 14.8% on weekends. Requests came from urgent care (42.3%), outpatient (29.5%), and inpatient (23.3%) settings. Conclusion: This is the first published study that measures interpretation needs via intercom requests. We propose that our method can be replicated to inform implementation of professional medical interpretation services. We conclude that linguistic interpretation needs are significant in the Montreal area, and likely in Canada in general and pose a barrier to effective medical care.

Advancing language concordant care: a multimodal medical interpretation intervention

“…Language discordant care is defined as clinical assessment or communication that takes place in a language other than the patient’s preferred language 6. Consequences of language discordant care include increased risk for medical errors, longer hospital stays and higher readmission rates with reduced patient satisfaction and quality of care 2 3 7.…”

“…Despite the availability of professional MIS across Canada, these tools are not universally employed when language barriers exist between patients and clinicians 6. An important factor leading to MIS underutilisation is the perceived lack of interpersonal skills among providers to navigate situations where patients/families do not want professional interpreters present 15.…”

“…Barriers at the organisational level also contribute to MIS underutilisation, including limited interpreter availability, perceived time constraints and inaccessibility or difficult-to-use interface of digital MIS platforms 15. Organisational culture, structural discrimination and lack of clinician knowledge or awareness of medical interpretation resources are additional factors that lead to reduced MIS use 6…”

“…Language discordant care is defined as clinical assessment or communication that takes place in a language other than the patient’s preferred language. 6 Consequences of language discordant care include increased risk for medical errors, longer hospital stays and higher readmission rates with reduced patient satisfaction and quality of care. 2 3 7 Delivering care in the presence of language barriers is also associated with poorer understanding of disease and treatment options, and negatively affects the process for obtaining informed consent.…”

“…Despite the availability of professional MIS across Canada, these tools are not universally employed when language barriers exist between patients and clinicians. 6 An important factor leading to MIS underutilisation is the perceived lack of interpersonal skills among providers to navigate situations where patients/families do not want professional interpreters present. 15 Previous studies have also found that healthcare providers may feel that the use of digital MIS, especially phone services, can result in the loss of patient-provider intimacy and increased risk for miscommunication.…”