Heathcare Research Study

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Can words kill? What if we could effectively communicate medical needs across all languages?

The saying “sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me” seems true. But, is it? What would it mean if certain words would mean the difference between life and death, and you couldn’t speak them? What if you couldn’t tell the doctor that your son or daughter is deathly allergic to latex, or penicillin? Or, tell them about a family history of cancer? Then, the answer to this question may be “yes”. Words can hurt, even kill. This is an issue faced everyday for many individuals. As a melting pot of languages, races, religions, thoughts and beliefs in the US, it is imperative that we are able to reach across those boundaries to provide good medical care. As the statistics are changing daily in the United States and worldwide, we need to be able to answer this question better.

In my research paper, I would like to delve into how the language barrier negatively affects healthcare. I will be touching on the history of language barriers, affects of them, and how to overcome them. I will be researching different outcomes or advances in the fight to cross the language barrier. Since we will be speaking about different language barriers, I would also like to touch on cultural beliefs when dealing with different cultures. Some of my information will come from articles written on the subject. Some will come from personal experience. As someone who has been speaking dual languages for 15+ years, I can attest to the breakdown in communication in the medical field. Not for lack of trying, but for lack of understanding.

I believe that if we can overcome this barrier, we would be able to provide much better patient care, and reduce the risk of medical errors. I have seen first hand where a patient will refuse to go to the doctor, because they feel like they will not be understood. We have come a long way, but still have very far to go.

References

Overcoming language barriers in healthcare: A protocol for investigating safe and effective communication when patients or clinicians use a second language

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4566365/

Language Barriers Increase Risk for Adverse Events and Effects https://www.amnhealthcare.com/latest-healthcare-news/language-barriers-increase-risk-adverse-events-effects/

Hospital Language Services: Quality Improvement and Performance Measures

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK43719/

The “Battle” of Managing Language Barriers in Health Care

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4990509/

Cultural Religious Competence In Clinical Practice

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK493216/

Speaking the same language means better health care quality, study finds

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/01/110120151638.htm

Examples of Problematic Language Barrier Situations in Healthcare

https://www.stratusvideo.com/problematic-language-barrier-healthcare/