Linguistic and Cultural Acceptability of a Spanish Translation of the Ohio State University Traumatic Brain Injury Identification Method Among Community-Dwelling Spanish-Dominant Older Adults.
Heather C Hufstedler, Karen A Dorsman, Ernesto J Rivera and 7 others
PMID 33543051WHAT IT FOUND
Spanish-speaking older adults understood the translated brain injury questions, but many said a head injury was a “golpe” not a “lesión” and would not report it.
Most rejected the tablet self-administered format, preferring a person-to-person interview.
Key findings
01Participants interpreted “lesión” (injury) as more serious than “golpe” (hit), and some would not report head trauma because they believed their experience was a “golpe” rather than an “injury.”
02There was widespread confusion about whether facial injuries count as head injuries, with participants requesting the interview explicitly clarify this.
03Self-reported usability was high, but researcher field notes observed low usability among most participants, especially those with less than 13 years of education, who struggled with basic tablet navigation.
04Only 1 of 22 participants would choose the tablet-based self-administered tool over a researcher-administered interview.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Small sample size (22 participants) from a single geographic region (San Francisco Bay Area), limiting generalizability to other Spanish dialects or populations. All participants had MoCA scores ≥16, excluding those with more significant cognitive impairment who may be at higher risk for TBI. The study assessed a specific Spanish translation; findings may not apply to other translations or cultural contexts. Usability issues were observed but not formally measured with standardized usability metrics.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that a Spanish-speaking patient’s denial of head injury means no injury occurred. The term “lesión” (injury) may be interpreted as requiring severe trauma like bleeding or loss of consciousness, so patients may omit “golpes” (hits) or facial injuries. Additionally, do not rely on self-administered tablet surveys for older adults with limited education, as observed usability was low despite high self-reports.