Communication with Migrant Patients and their Parents in Inpatient General Pediatric Care

Abstract

Depending on the ethnic background of patients, the quality of communication between the parents of pediatric patients and clinicians, as well as the type and frequency of interpreter services was studied in an inpatient setting. As part of a questionnaire-based survey, data from parents, doctors and nurses with reference to 220 pediatric patients treated in the Department of Pediatrics at the University Hospital Leipzig from February to May 2013 were analyzed; 18,2% of patients were migrants. No differences were found in the assessment of the quality of communication with clinic staff by migrant and non-migrant parents. Physicians as well as nurses rated the communication with migrant parents compared to non-migrant parents significantly lower. In up to 19,2% (data provided by nursing staff) and 15,3% (data provided by doctors) of the cases characterized by insufficient language skills on the part of migrant parents, interpreter services had to be procured. No professional interpreters were used. The results highlight once more the difficulties in communication between clinicians and migrant patients with insufficient language skills. More attention should be paid to the impact of the use of professional interpreters in the health care services.