H - 21 ¿Habla Español? Increasing Access to Clinical and Educational Materials for Non-English Speakers.

Abstract

Effective communication is an essential factor in successful health care delivery. However, Hispanic-Americans, many of whom are non-English speakers, face disparities related to a lack of multilingual providers and resources in their preferred language. The goal of this quality improvement project was to increase access to clinical and educational materials for non-English speakers at an outpatient pediatric clinic. A survey assessing the availability of bi- or multilingual providers and staff as well as Spanish materials utilized by providers was disseminated to all staff working at the Pediatrics Department, including the Division of Developmental/Behavioral Sciences, of an academic medical center. Participants uploaded resources they use to assist in the development of a departmental repository of Spanish materials. Data was collected November 2022-January 2023. Sixty-five participants completed the survey with 28% speaking Spanish, and 23% reporting they provide health care services in Spanish. Forty-six different kinds of resources were identified, and eight were uploaded and compiled into a repository with the goal of being distributed across the department to be used by providers and staff. Although valuable work has been done to develop culturally-appropriate materials in Spanish for health care use, the availability and use of these resources appears to be limited. Building an infrastructure for sharing these materials department-wide, and broader within healthcare systems is essential. Further research is needed to understand the cultural appropriateness of health-related materials translated into Spanish, and in developing guidelines for the translation and adaptation of materials for a growing culturally-diverse patient population.