Communication methods between outpatients with limited-English proficiency and ancillary staff: LASI study results.
Lily Kornbluth, Celia P Kaplan, Lisa Diamond and 1 others
PMID 34023171WHAT IT FOUND
Front desk staff and medical assistants rarely used professional interpreters, so many outpatients with limited English relied on their own English, non-verbal cues, or bilingual staff.
Nurses should ask what language and method actually worked.
Key findings
01Professional interpreters were used by only 2.5% of participants with front desk staff and 3.5% with medical assistants.
029.1% of participants who reported no English proficiency used English with ancillary staff.
03Staff said time pressure made them avoid professional interpretation, and physicians said they took on extra tasks for patients with limited English.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study was done in one urban academic primary care practice, so it may not apply to other settings. The patient sample was limited to people age over 40, Asian or Latino, and Cantonese, Mandarin, or Spanish language preference. The qualitative staff interviews were collected for practice improvement, not recorded, double-coded, or member-checked.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The supplied publication types indicate research support from NIH and non-U.S. government sources.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that bilingual staff alone solve communication for patients with limited English. Spanish speakers had lower language concordance with front desk staff than Cantonese or Mandarin speakers, and staff said complex tasks required professional interpretation.