Education
A PART OF ORPCS DISCOVERY NEWSLETTER
Enhancing Patient Care Through Utilizing Interpreter Services
Vanessa Chicas, R.N. (Clinical Nurse II) supported by Dr. Michelle DeCoux Hampton, Interim Executive Director of Research, Quality & Compliance in the Office of Research Patient Care Services, Stanford Health Care, conducted a quality improvement project through an intervention to increase nurse and healthcare provider use of interpreter services in an inpatient hospital unit. The article was published in Nursing Management in September 2023.
Key findings:
In the United States, 9% of the population (25.9 million people) have limited English proficiency (LEP). Rates are higher rates in California with 19% of the state’s population (6 million people) who report LEP. Although communication barriers are reported as one of the most frequent causes of serious adverse effects in healthcare (i.e., medical errors and patient safety events), it is remarkable nurses reported using interpreter services only 50% of the time it was indicated prior to Dr. Chicas’ intervention. The amount increased to 90% after the intervention.
However, despite the improvements in interpreter service use, there were some barriers that continued to hinder its consistent use, including: limited availability of on-site interpreter services, long wait times for telephone interpreters, and ensuring all staff were aware of how to access the service.
It was also found that ongoing education, coaching to reinforce learning, and easy access to information (i.e., pictorial communication tools) could improve communication with LEP patients and providers’ interpretation service use. If sustained (a follow-up study that is currently under way by Drs. Chicas and Hampton), this has the potential to increase patient safety, quality, and healthcare equity for LEP patients at Stanford Health Care.
Conclusion:
Miscommunication due to language barriers is one of the most frequent causes of serious adverse events for LEP patients. Certified interpreter services are not consistently used by health care providers, contributing to this risk. The authors’ quality improvement project, implemented on one acuity-adaptable unit, resulted in increased awareness and increased use of interpreter services. If the effects are sustained, there is the potential to scale the project to more units throughout the organization.
Summary written by: Briana Williams