Paris Cooke, Mercedes M Morales-Alemán, Gwendolyn Ferreti
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Objectives: Sixty-three percent of Latinos/as/x in Alabama, speak English "not well" or "not at all." Effective provider-patient communication is the foundation of successful clinical interactions. Medical interpretation is important to the healthcare provision for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). We examined Alabama providers' perceptions of working with medical interpreters to identify strategies to improve healthcare provision for LEP patients.
Methods: We conducted nine semistructured qualitative interviews with primary healthcare providers in western Alabama. We used NVivo to conduct thematic coding and content analysis.
Results: Of the nine providers, one self-identified as Latina and the others identified as White. Four participants worked in community clinics and five worked at university-based clinics. Four themes emerged: preference for in-person interpreters over technology-based interpretation; providers' perceptions and expectations of the roles of professional interpreters; challenges in the communication process; and use of family members or other ad hoc interpreters.
Conclusions: To meet the needs of Latino/a/x communities, clinical settings should invest in adequate staffing of in-person interpreters, infrastructure and workflow improvements, and the hiring and training of polylingual providers. Capacity-building opportunities to establish team building between interpreters and providers could be useful tools in improving healthcare provision for LEP patients.
期刊介绍:
As the official journal of the Birmingham, Alabama-based Southern Medical Association (SMA), the Southern Medical Journal (SMJ) has for more than 100 years provided the latest clinical information in areas that affect patients'' daily lives. Now delivered to individuals exclusively online, the SMJ has a multidisciplinary focus that covers a broad range of topics relevant to physicians and other healthcare specialists in all relevant aspects of the profession, including medicine and medical specialties, surgery and surgery specialties; child and maternal health; mental health; emergency and disaster medicine; public health and environmental medicine; bioethics and medical education; and quality health care, patient safety, and best practices. Each month, articles span the spectrum of medical topics, providing timely, up-to-the-minute information for both primary care physicians and specialists. Contributors include leaders in the healthcare field from across the country and around the world. The SMJ enables physicians to provide the best possible care to patients in this age of rapidly changing modern medicine.