Language barriers compromise health care for 50 million Americans who do not speak English
From EurekAlert! - Breaking News:
While passions flare on all sides of the language debate, the sad truth is that the language barrier negatively impacts health care for 50 million (19 percent) U.S. residents who do not speak English at home and the 22 million (eight percent) with limited English proficiency.
Lack of effective communication also contributes to the high cost of healthcare, according to Dr. Flores, professor of pediatrics, epidemiology and health policy at the Medical College of Wisconsin, and director of the Center for Advancement of Underserved Children at the Medical College and Children's Hospital of Wisconsin.
"No American should suffer from medical mistakes, preventable hospitalizations, and substandard medical care just because he or she doesn't speak English," Says Dr. Flores.
A resident physician who interpreted a Spanish speaking mother's explanation that her daughter had "hit herself" when she fell off her tricycle assumed the fracture had resulted from abuse, and called the social services department who had the mother sign over custody of her two children.
According to one study, there was no interpreter used in 46 percent of emergency-department cases involving patients with limited English proficiency.
They receive fewer preventive services and are at increased risk of nonadherence to medication.
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