International Journal for Equity in Health最新文献

{"title":"Health in Kerala: exploring achievements and remaining challenges of health systems reform using an equity lens.","authors":"Hari Sankar D, Anish Thekkumakara Surendran, Rakhal Gaitonde, Devaki Nambiar","doi":"10.1186/s12939-025-02414-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12939-025-02414-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The southern Indian state of Kerala is often regarded as a global model for its impressive health outcomes at a low cost. While the state consistently invests in healthcare and showcases remarkable health indicators, disparities persist, particularly among underserved populations who experience poorer health outcomes. This special issue focuses on research work that examines health equity in the region.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Following an open call for the collection featuring research studies focusing on health equity in Kerala in 2022, we received 29 submissions; four editors handled the submissions, and after peer review, nine articles were finally published as part of the special issue.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The final collection has nine articles which include studies describing health system efforts and user experiences about the control of tuberculosis, two evaluations of Universal Health Coverage (UHC) reforms in the state, a commentary on challenges faced by transgender persons in accessing gender-affirming medical care, two qualitative studies that span the UHC reform process and policies through the lens of a marginalized section of society, a case study on rabies death and a cross-sectional analysis characterizing the impact of COVID 19 pandemic in the mental health of school children.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>The special issue contributes to the growing body of literature around health equity in Kerala and India and documents key challenges that plague the state health system like persisting access issues to seek necessary care, lack of acknowledgment of important social determinants in policies, absence of targeted interventions for underserved communities, and shortcomings in engaging with the private sector - that continue to plague the journey of moving towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC). The findings suggest that custom made policies are required to address the specific health needs of underserved population rather than a doing \"more of same\" approach.</p>","PeriodicalId":13745,"journal":{"name":"International Journal for Equity in Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"89"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11966890/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143772268","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Priorities and expectations of researchers, funders, patients and the public regarding equity in medical research and funding: results from the PERSPECT qualitative study.","authors":"Raksha Ramkumar, William R Betzner, Nora Cristall, Bogna A Drozdowska, Joachim Fladt, Tanaporn Jaroenngarmsamer, Rosalie McDonough, Mayank Goyal, Aravind Ganesh","doi":"10.1186/s12939-025-02458-7","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12939-025-02458-7","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Considerations of equity in funding and conduct of medical research are receiving greater attention. However, perspectives of diverse stakeholder groups on this topic are poorly characterized. Our study aimed to further understand broad stakeholder perspectives and priorities regarding inequities in medical research and funding, including implications for international collaborations with low-and middle-income countries (LMICs).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Participants were recruited through purposive and snowball sampling. We employed a qualitative descriptive methodology embedded in an interpretive grounded theory framework. This approach involved in-depth, semi-structured interviews with researchers, funders, patients, and members of the public. Participants were asked to discuss their perspectives on the current state of equity in medical research and funding. Collected data were analyzed using constant comparison, open-coding, and theme identification to generate a substantive theory.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We conducted 41 interviews involving 11 researchers, 10 funders, 10 patients, and 10 members of the public. Participants perceived several inequities within research participation, funding opportunities, topic prioritization, and lack of international collaborations inclusive of LMICs. Potential strategies to address these inequities were also identified. Through participants' perspectives, we developed a central theory that addressing inequities in medical research and funding can promote collaborative spaces and produce greater research impact for society, regardless of demographics, socioeconomic status, and geographical residence. While we gained diverse perspectives from four distinct stakeholder groups, our primary limitation was that participants in our study were predominantly from Canada and the United States.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Participants perceived various inequities in the funding and conduct of medical research. Our findings were primarily captured from participants living in Canada and the United States. However, we were able to gain insights of challenges and potential solutions through their diverse perspectives, and we are optimistic that sustaining efforts to mitigate medical research and funding inequities will help accelerate and broaden the societal impact of medical research within and across countries, including in LMICs.</p>","PeriodicalId":13745,"journal":{"name":"International Journal for Equity in Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"90"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11966847/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143772270","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The inclusion of LGBTQ + people within UK health policy: a critical discourse analysis.","authors":"Debbie Braybrook, William E Rosa, Charlotte Norman, Richard Harding, Katherine Bristowe","doi":"10.1186/s12939-025-02446-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12939-025-02446-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Health policymakers can leverage change to improve equity in access to care, patient experiences and clinical outcomes. Despite legal progress to reduce health inequalities, social and systemic injustices persist and lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and queer (LGBTQ+) people have increased risk of some health conditions and poorer health outcomes linked to the discrimination they experience. In 2022, 42 regional integrated care systems were created across England to reduce health inequalities and improve the wellbeing of their local population.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study aimed to examine the inclusion of UK Equality Act (2010) protected characteristics within the 42 publicly available integrated care system strategies, and to consider specifically how LGBTQ + communities and their needs, experiences and outcomes are framed within these strategies. A Critical Discourse Analysis was conducted positioned within a social constructivist paradigm.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Almost all strategies talked about the needs of their populations in terms of age (42/42), disability (42/42), gender (41/42), ethnicity (39/42) and maternity or pregnancy (39/32). 27/42 strategies mentioned religion. There were no references to marital status. 22/42 strategies referred to LGBTQ + people, but only around 25% of those references provided context about the specific needs of LGBTQ + people, the health inequities they face, or services for LGBTQ + people. Regarding gender minorities, there were eight mentions of trans people and no mentions of intersex people, despite some policies using the acronym LGBQTI. While there were two mentions of inequities in care delivery for trans people, the specific health or social care needs of trans people were not described in any strategies, and there were a small number of examples where trans people were presented in a problematizing frame; with no discussion of trans inclusive care, only problems associated with being trans. Across all 42 strategies there were only four references to systemic forces (e.g. homophobia, transphobia, discrimination) affecting LGBTQ + people.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>While the needs of some minoritized groups are well recognized within health policies, LGBTQ + people remain marginalized. Further work is needed to educate and enable policy makers to advocate for LGBTQ + people and communities, and to ensure equitable and respectful inclusion of all minoritised groups.</p>","PeriodicalId":13745,"journal":{"name":"International Journal for Equity in Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"88"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11966894/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143772271","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Pacific community's perceptions on how to improve uptake of urate-lowering therapy for Pacific gout patients.","authors":"Samuela Ofanoa, Malakai Ofanoa, Siobhan Tu'akoi, Hinamaha Lutui, Maryann Heather, Felicity Goodyear-Smith","doi":"10.1186/s12939-025-02465-8","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12939-025-02465-8","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Objectives: </strong>This study aims to explore the views of Pacific people on how to improve the management of urate-lowering therapy among Pacific gout patients in South Auckland.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The study used the Fa'afaletui model to explore the views on gout management across different perspectives of Pacific community members and health professionals working in health providers with high Pacific patient populations. Three workshops were delivered with the community and health professionals. All data were collected by note-takers and analysed using a general inductive approach. Participants were given the opportunity to review the results of the previous workshop before starting the next one.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The key findings from this study clustered into three key themes: [1] Gout interventions guided by Pacific frameworks and research; [2] a multifaceted approach including education, improved access to treatment and screening for gout, and strategies to help Pacific gout patients remain engaged and adherent; and [3] Pacific gout champions.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study presents the views of community members of how to improve the uptake of urate-lowering therapy among Pacific gout patients. The community highlighted the need for a multifaceted intervention governed by a Pacific model, addressing access barriers and education for Pacific gout patients.</p>","PeriodicalId":13745,"journal":{"name":"International Journal for Equity in Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"91"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11967122/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143772269","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Healthcare resource allocation and patient choice: evidence from rural China.","authors":"Shaoyang Zhao, Yueqin Wang, Yuxiao Chen, Mei Zhou","doi":"10.1186/s12939-025-02450-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12939-025-02450-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Access to quality essential healthcare services is a fundamental right for all residents. However, the unequal allocation of healthcare resources affects patients' accessibility to care, thereby influencing their healthcare choices. Utilizing health insurance administrative data and employing a difference-in-differences (DID) model, this study examines the impact of China's healthcare resource allocation reform on patients' healthcare choices. The findings reveal that increased investment in rural healthcare resources significantly reduces the proportion of residents seeking medical services outside their counties, alleviates patients' medical burden, and enhances healthcare quality. Notably, these improvements primarily benefit patients with common diseases, while the impact on those with rare diseases remains less pronounced. These results underscore the importance of strengthening the comprehensive capabilities of county-level hospitals and prioritizing high-quality resource allocation in rural areas as key directions for future reforms in healthcare system.</p>","PeriodicalId":13745,"journal":{"name":"International Journal for Equity in Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"87"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-03-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11959753/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143752633","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Socioeconomic and demographic disparities in the impact of digestive diseases in the middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.","authors":"Omar Al Ta'ani, Yazan Al-Ajlouni, Chloe Lahoud, Sharifeh Almasaid, Yahya Alhalalmeh, Zaid Oweis, Pojsakorn Danpanichkul, Ali Baidoun, Saqr Alsakarneh, Dushyant Singh Dahiya, Basile Njei","doi":"10.1186/s12939-025-02448-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12939-025-02448-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Digestive diseases (DD) pose a significant global health burden, with the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region providing a unique landscape to study the impact of socioeconomic disparities on DD incidence and outcomes. This study examines the burden of DD in the MENA region, focusing on socioeconomic influences.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We utilized data from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) dataset from 1990 to 2021, analyzing trends in incidence, mortality, and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for DD. Percentage changes and estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) were calculated for age-standardized rates, and correlations were assessed between disease metrics and socio-demographic indices, including the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), Human Development Index (HDI), and Gender Inequality Index (GII).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Between 1990 and 2021, the total incidence of DD rose by 129.8%, from 19.7 million to 45.4 million cases. Age-standardized mortality and DALY rates decreased by 48.3% and 44.7%, respectively. Strong correlations were observed between age-standardized incidence rates (ASIR) and SDI (r = 0.90), HDI (r = 0.88), and GII (r = - 0.86). EAPCs for incidence, deaths, and DALYs were 0.79, -2.29, and - 1.88, respectively.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Despite a reduction in mortality and DALY rates, the persistently high incidence rates of DD in the MENA region underscores ongoing public health challenges. Socioeconomic factors strongly influence disease burden, highlighting the need for targeted interventions to address disparities and improve digestive disease outcomes across the region.</p>","PeriodicalId":13745,"journal":{"name":"International Journal for Equity in Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"85"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11951616/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143729998","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Informing equitable access to care: a cross-sectional study of travel burden to primary and rheumatology care for people with rheumatoid arthritis.","authors":"Xiaoxiao Liu, Alka B Patel, Judy E Seidel, Dianne P Mosher, John Hagens, Deborah A Marshall","doi":"10.1186/s12939-025-02439-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12939-025-02439-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Achieving equity in access to care is a priority at both national and provincial levels in Canada to address health disparities. However, equitable access remains a challenge due to significantly higher rheumatoid arthritis (RA) prevalence in vast rural areas, whereas the RA care providers are primarily concentrated in the two largest cities. Rural-urban disparities in access may be partially attributed to geographic barriers. It is important to measure travel burden of people with RA for developing targeted interventions and policies to mitigate identified geographic barriers and informing equitable access to health care.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional study was conducted between April 1, 2019 and March 31, 2020 for people with RA in Alberta, Canada. RA cohort was identified using a validated RA case definition based on administrative health data. Travel time between patients' postal codes and providers' clinic postal codes was calculated using network analysis. Median travel time was reported at geographic area level. Wilcoxon Rank Sum Test was applied to test the statistical significance between rural-urban categories. The distance decay effect of travel time on health care utilizaton was modelled using a reverse cumulative probability approach.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>RA patients took a median of 13 min (IQR: 5-28) to visit general practitioners (GPs) and 34 min (IQR: 21-51) to visit rheumatologists. There were significant rural-urban disparities in access to GP and rheumatology care. The results showed a 4-fold difference in GP travel time (remote areas:5 min, IQR 5-79; moderate metro:20 min, IQR 7-34) and 8.7-fold difference to rheumatologist visit (remote: 226 min, IQR 165-331; metro: 26 min, IQR 17-36) across the rural-urban continuum. Remote patients experienced the longest travel time to rheumatology care but the shortest median travel time to GP care. In remote areas, travel time showed the weakest impact on health care utilization compared to other rural-urban continuum.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Measuring the travel burden for people with RA to access care reveals patterns about the differences in how far patients travelled to seek RA care based on their residential geographic location. These findings will provide evidence to inform health care planning and address observed disparities towards the goal of achieving equitable care.</p>","PeriodicalId":13745,"journal":{"name":"International Journal for Equity in Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"84"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11951789/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143729871","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Included and excluded: an intersectionality-based policy analysis of young migrants' vulnerability to sexual violence in Sweden.","authors":"Tanya Andersson Nystedt, Tobias Herder, Anette Agardh, Benedict Oppong Asamoah","doi":"10.1186/s12939-025-02454-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12939-025-02454-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Young migrants are increasingly recognised as being particularly vulnerable to sexual violence. This vulnerability is largely structural, due to the different laws and policies impacting their access to rights and services. Post-structural approaches to policy argue that policies are not responses to existing problems, but rather that social issues are constructed through policy. They define both whether something is a problem and how that problem is to be addressed. The aim of this study was to understand how sexual violence is conceived of in the Swedish policy environment and how this interacts with the migration regime to affect young migrants' vulnerability to sexual violence.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A systematic search was conducted to identify Swedish national-level policies: (1) addressing sexual violence; and (2) relating to the migration regime. 14 documents were included in the analysis: 6 addressed sexual violence, and 8 were related to migration. An intersectionality-based policy analysis was conducted by applying three questions to the relevant policies: (1) How is sexual violence conceived of in the policies? (2) How are young migrants represented in the policies? (3) How does the conception of sexual violence interact with the migration regime to impact young migrants' vulnerability?</p><p><strong>Findings: </strong>Power is central to how sexual violence is conceived of in Swedish policies, as is access to human right and services. Young persons and migrants are both identified as vulnerable groups in these policies but as separate categories. Structural sources of vulnerability are recognised but not addressed in policies addressing sexual violence. The migration regime works largely to restrict migrants' access to rights and services, thereby contributing to young migrants' vulnerability to sexual violence.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Although migrants and youth are included separately in policies addressing sexual violence, the migration regime largely works to exclude different groups of young migrants from access to rights and services and thereby increases their vulnerability to sexual violence.</p>","PeriodicalId":13745,"journal":{"name":"International Journal for Equity in Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"86"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11951626/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143729963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Geographic disparities in hospital readmissions: a retrospective cohort study among patients with chronic disease in rural China.","authors":"Mingyue Li, Haoqing Tang, Huixian Zheng, Baisong Zhang, Haozhe Cheng, Yanshang Wang, Yuxun Zhou, Xiaotian Zhang, Pascal Geldsetzer, Xiaoyun Liu","doi":"10.1186/s12939-025-02443-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12939-025-02443-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Frequent hospital readmissions place a significant burden on patients, families, and society. Many high-income countries have implemented financial incentives to reduce readmissions. In China, readmission metrics have also been introduced as part of the performance evaluation for secondary hospitals. However, the understanding of hospital readmissions, particularly in rural and remote areas of China, remains limited. This study aims to analyze geographic disparities in hospital readmissions among high-need patients.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This retrospective cohort study used anonymized hospital discharge data from January 1, 2017, to December 31, 2021, from three public secondary county hospitals. We included rural patients aged 15 and older with hypertension or type 2 diabetes. The outcomes were 30-day, 90-day, and annual readmissions. The explanatory variable was the travel distance to county hospitals, calculated based on the longitude and latitude of registered addresses. Covariates included patient demographics (gender, age, marital status, and ethnicity); health status (Charlson comorbidity score, types of chronic diseases, surgery, and length of stay); and other factors (health insurance and admitted departments). We first reported unweighted readmissions stratified by travel distances (< 40 km versus ≥ 40 km). Multiple logistic regression models were then used to examine the relationship between travel distances and readmissions.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The 30-day, 90-day and annual readmission rates for hypertension or type 2 diabetes were 8.5%, 19.1%, and 39.7%, respectively. Patients living far away were more vulnerable - older (aged 65 and older 59.1% versus 58.5%, P < 0.001), predominantly minorities (Minority 55.6% versus 29.4%, P < 0.001), and having more hypertension and diabetes-related complications, as well as undergoing more surgeries (surgery 29.4% versus 23.3%, P < 0.001) compared to those living nearby. After adjusting covariates and weights, patients living 40 km away had 11% decrease in the odds of being readmitted within 30 days (OR = 0.89, 95%CI = 0.83-0.96), 10% decrease in the odds of 90-day readmissions (OR = 0.90, 95%CI = 0.85-0.94), and 13% decrease in the odds of annual readmissions (OR = 0.87, 95%CI = 0.84-0.91) compared to those living within 40 km.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>We found significant geographic disparities in hospital readmissions among high-need patients. Patients living farther from hospitals had significantly lower odds of readmissions. Readmission rates reflect patients' healthcare utilization patterns in rural and remote areas. Policymakers should address the geographic access barriers and be cautious when using readmission rates as a measure of hospital performance.</p>","PeriodicalId":13745,"journal":{"name":"International Journal for Equity in Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"83"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-03-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11948674/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143718724","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Communication practices with patients using a language other than French: a cross-sectional survey in a university hospital in France.","authors":"Johann Cailhol, Bouamrane Larbi-Benhadjar, Ando Rajaonah, Anais Anthonioz, Vincent Kaufmann, Claire Peloso, Sanjeev Bista","doi":"10.1186/s12939-025-02422-5","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12939-025-02422-5","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Aims: </strong>This paper aims to shed light on routine communication practices between all types of hospital workers- medical, administrative and psycho-social -, and patients using a language other than French.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A cross-sectional survey was conducted at a University Hospital, located in a Parisian suburb, where the proportion of immigrants is high. The survey targeted any type of hospital employee, provided that the employee was in contact with patients. The survey items included: routine communication practices with patients using a language other than French; perceived quality of communication; issues experienced when communicating with non-French speaking patients; main languages raising communications difficulties; ways to improve communication with patients using a language other that French. Descriptive and bivariate analysis were conducted with R software. Survey findings were cross-analyzed with 2-year records of professional interpreter services at the University hospital.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>A total of 362 participants responded in June 2022 to the online survey, of which 353 had no missing value. All types of hospital staff were represented, the majority being paramedics and medical doctors. \"The use of a professional interpreter\" was ranked as third most used practice, behind \"getting by\" and \"use of an accompanying adult\". South Asian languages were those fueling the most important communication issues. Medical doctors and psychologists had significantly more access to professional interpreters, whereas paramedics and administrative staff made more use of application software. Several negative consequences on everyday care, significantly impacting its perceived quality, were raised.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our findings showed the importance of alleviating communication difficulties with patients using a language other than French, in order to achieve health equity, and means to achieve this are discussed.</p>","PeriodicalId":13745,"journal":{"name":"International Journal for Equity in Health","volume":"24 1","pages":"82"},"PeriodicalIF":4.5,"publicationDate":"2025-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11934753/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143700152","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}