Use and barriers to use of health care interpreters for limited English proficiency patients : a case study of Yale-New Haven Hospital

196 Pages·2002·4.5 MB·English

by  Gallet, Valerie

Use and Barriers to Use ofHealth Care Interpretersfor LimitedEnglish
Proficiency Patients:
A CaseStudy ofYale-NewHaven Hospital
By
Valerie Gallet
B.S. Biology, Tufts University, 2000
A
Thesis Presented to
The Faculty ofthe Department ofEpidemiology and Public Health
Yale University
In Candidacy for the Degree of
Master ofPublic Health
2002

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A
Barriers to use ofHealth Care Interpreters for Limited-English Proficiency Patients:
Case Study ofYale-New Haven Hospital" for the purpose ofindividual scholarly
consultation or reference is hereby granted by the author. This permission is not to be
interpreted as affecting publication ofthis work or otherwise placing it in the public
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Date
WtE
MEDiC/iLL/BRARy
OCT
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Executive Summary:
The inability to speak English presents an obstacle to accessing health services in the
US. Health care interpreters are thus increasingly recognized as enabling better
communication between clinicians and their patients. The benefits ofenhancing linguistic
competence in health care delivery systems are three fold: 1) benefits for health care
organizations; 2) benefits for the patients; and 3) greater adherence to ethical principles
underlying high quality patient care.
The objectives ofthis qualitative study conducted at Yale-New Haven Hospital were to
describe the variability in use ofInterpreters Services by different patient care units at
YNHH, identify determinants ofuse, and recommend interventions for enhancing use of
Interpreter Services in the hospital setting. Findings reveal that units varied enormously
in the use ofIS. Respondents from patient care units with lower use ofinterpreters often
reflected that Interpreter Services offered little added value, and took a long time to
respond to requests. These low user units also reported having had a sentinel (bad) event,
in a previous use ofInterpreter Services, and not being aware that interpreters can be
provided over the phone. Recommendations for increasing the use ofinterpreters at
YNHH
include: 1) capitalize on clinical staff; 2) implementing a quality improvement
initiative; and 3) increasing marketing ofInterpreter Services. Meeting demand and
obtaining management support is essential to achieving these objectives. A program
proposal for increasing Interpreter Services use was developed and submitted to the
YNHH
Interpreter Services office, to provide specific interventions directed to increase
the use ofinterpreters.