The Impact of Medical Interpreter Services on the Quality of Health Care: A Systematic Review

Flores, Glenn

doi:10.1177/1077558705275416

Cited by 1,096 publications

(923 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(67 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

824

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…On the one hand culture-related communication differences were identified as hampering for mental health diagnoses, on the other hand there is a lack of mental health care options available targeted especially to refugees [15,16]. The results of this research are consistent to earlier studies [18–20]. …”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Research has shown that PHC professionals and refugees or other migrants face equally great challenges when it comes to PHC encounters during the flight, upon and after arrival in the destination countries [15,16,18–20]. In response to these challenges, an online course/CME course for PHC professionals was developed, offering comprehensive knowledge on the issues of refugees’ and other migrants’ health to participants from different countries.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Development and evaluation of a web-based capacity building course in the EUR-HUMAN project to support primary health care professionals in the provision of high-quality care for refugees and migrants

Jirovsky

Hoffmann

Mayrhuber

et al. 2018

Global Health Action

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The ongoing refugee crisis has revealed the need for enhancing primary health care (PHC) professionals’ skills and training. Objectives: The aim was to strengthen PHC professionals in European countries in the provision of high-quality care for refugees and migrants by offering a concise modular training that was based on the needs of the refugees and PHC professionals as shown by prior research in the EUR-HUMAN project. Methods: We developed, piloted, and evaluated an online capacity building course of 8 stand-alone modules containing information about acute health issues of refugees, legal issues, provider–patient communication and cultural aspects of health and illness, mental health, sexual and reproductive health, child health, chronic diseases, health promotion, and prevention. The English course template was translated into seven languages and adapted to the local contexts of six countries. Pre- and post-completion knowledge tests were administered to effectively assess the progress and knowledge increase of participants so as to issue CME certificates. An online evaluation survey post completion was used to assess the acceptability and practicability of the course from the participant perspective. These data were analyzed descriptively. Results: A total of 390 participants registered for the online course in 6 countries with 175 completing all modules of the course, 47.7 % of them medical doctors. The mean time for completion was 10.77 hours. In total, 123 participants completed the online evaluation survey; the modules on acute health needs, legal issues (both 44.1%), and provider–patient communication/cultural issues (52.9%) were found particularly important for the daily practice. A majority expressed a will to promote the online course among their peers. Conclusion: This course is a promising learning tool for PHC professionals and when relevant supportive conditions are met. The course has the potential to empower PHC professionals in their work with refugees and other migrants.

show abstract

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development and evaluation of a web-based capacity building course in the EUR-HUMAN project to support primary health care professionals in the provision of high-quality care for refugees and migrants

Jirovsky

Hoffmann

Mayrhuber

et al. 2018

Global Health Action

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Similar to all prior inpatient studies we found a low use of interpreters by hospital clinicians. 5,6,21 Federal law, the Institute of Medicine (IOM), and hospital guidelines, including the Joint Commission standards, all recommend the routine use of professional interpreters during clinical encounters. 3,[22][23][24] It is possible that our low rate of interpreter use is due to the use of nonprofessional interpreters (i.e., family members or friends) and/or clinical encounters with bilingual physicians or other clinical staff and/or even LEP patients relying on their own limited English language abilities.…”

Section: Mutltivariable Analyses Of Hospital Outcomesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…3,4 The use of professional medical interpreters is associated with increased patient satisfaction, quality of care, and improved disease-specific process measures and 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.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BACKGROUND: Few studies have examined the impact of inpatient interpreter use for limited English proficient (LEP) patients on length of stay (LOS), 30-day post discharge emergency department (ED) visits and 30-day hospital readmission rates for LEP patients. METHODS: A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted of all hospitalized patients admitted to the general medicine service at a large academic center. For patients self-reported as LEP, use of interpreters during each episode of hospitalization was categorized as: 1) interpreter used by non-MD (i.e., nurse); 2) interpreter used by a nonHospitalist MD; 3) interpreter used by Hospitalist; and 4) no interpreter used during hospitalization. We examined the association of English proficiency and interpreter use on outcomes utilizing Poisson and logistic regression models. RESULTS: Of 4,224 patients, 564 (13 %) were LEP. Of these LEP patients, 65.8 % never had a documented interpreter visit, 16.8 % utilized an interpreter with a non-MD, 12.6 % utilized an interpreter with a nonHospitalist MD and 4.8 % utilized an interpreter with a hospitalist present. In adjusted models, compared to English speakers, LEP patients with no interpreters had significantly shorter LOS. There were no differences in readmission rates and ED utilization between LEP and English-speaking patients. Compared to LEP patients with no interpreter use, those who had a physician use an interpreter had odds for a longer LOS, but there was no difference in odds of readmission or ED utilization. CONCLUSION: Academic hospital clinician use of interpreters remains highly variable and physicians may selectively be using interpreters for the sickest patients.KEY WORDS: limited English proficiency; interpreter use; length of stay; thirty-day readmissions.

show abstract

“…To ensure equity, our healthcare system needs to effectively incorporate evidence‐based practices that facilitate quality care across language differences 5. Engaging professional medical interpreters (PMIs) in the care of patients with language barriers can help decrease clinical errors, enhance service utilization, improve clinical outcomes, and increase patient satisfaction 6. The role of PMIs in the care of stroke patients is largely unknown; we are aware of only 1 Australian study that showed patients undergoing inpatient stroke rehabilitation who needed and received PMI services had a greater change in their functional independence rate compared with patients who needed but did not receive PMI services 7.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional Medical Interpreters Influence the Quality of Acute Ischemic Stroke Care for Patients Who Speak Languages Other than English

Erfe

Siddiqui

Schwamm

et al. 2017

JAHA

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe inability to communicate effectively in a common language can jeopardize clinicians’ efforts to provide quality patient care. Professional medical interpreters (PMIs) can help provide linguistically appropriate health care, in particular for the >25 million Americans who identify speaking English less than very well. We aimed to evaluate the relationship between use of PMIs and quality of acute ischemic stroke care received by patients who preferred to have their medical care in languages other than English.Methods and ResultsWe analyzed data from 259 non–English‐preferring acute ischemic stroke patients who participated in the American Heart Association Get With The Guidelines–Stroke program at our hospital from January 1, 2003, to April 30, 2014. We used descriptive statistics and logistic regression models to examine associations between involvement of PMIs and patients’ receipt of defect‐free stroke care. A total of 147 of 259 (57%) non–English‐preferring patients received PMI services during their hospital stays. Multivariable analyses adjusting for other socioeconomic factors showed that acute ischemic stroke patients who did not receive PMIs had lower odds of receiving defect‐free stroke care (odds ratio: 0.52; P=0.04).ConclusionsOur findings suggest that PMIs may influence the quality of acute ischemic stroke care.

show abstract

The Impact of Medical Interpreter Services on the Quality of Health Care: A Systematic Review

Cited by 1,096 publications

References 40 publications

Development and evaluation of a web-based capacity building course in the EUR-HUMAN project to support primary health care professionals in the provision of high-quality care for refugees and migrants

Development and evaluation of a web-based capacity building course in the EUR-HUMAN project to support primary health care professionals in the provision of high-quality care for refugees and migrants

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

Professional Medical Interpreters Influence the Quality of Acute Ischemic Stroke Care for Patients Who Speak Languages Other than English

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About