Characteristics of Cancer Hospitals with Written Language Access Policies. Academic Article uri icon

Overview

abstract

  • Patients with limited English proficiency receive worse care due to communication barriers. Little is known about which cancer hospitals have written language access policies addressing bilingual clinicians. We conducted a cross-sectional survey of healthcare organizations, matching survey data to American Hospital Association Survey and American Community Survey data. We analyzed characteristics associated with hospitals having bilingual clinician policies. The response rate was 71% (127/178). Many hospitals (53 [42%]) did not have written policies on bilingual clinicians. Having bilingual clinicians available at the hospital was associated with having a written policy on bilingual clinicians, while being an NCORP site was associated with not having a written policy on bilingual clinicians. Patient demographic characteristics were not associated with hospitals having written policies on bilingual clinicians. A substantial proportion of cancer hospitals do not have policies that cover language use by bilingual clinicians, particularly at NCORP sites. Having written policies on bilingual clinicians has the potential to mitigate cancer disparities by facilitating accountability, improving communication, and reducing errors.

publication date

  • September 22, 2022

Research

keywords

  • Multilingualism
  • Neoplasms

Identity

PubMed Central ID

  • PMC10276971

Scopus Document Identifier

  • 85138557236

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

  • 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2010.09.014

PubMed ID

  • 36136231

Additional Document Info

volume

  • 25

issue

  • 2