Language awareness in the bilingual healthcare setting: a national survey

The significance of effective interpersonal communication in healthcare is well established, as is the importance of overcoming language barriers. This has a particular bearing for minority language speakers, where denying language choice can compromise the quality of healthcare provision. Nevertheless, there is limited empirical research exploring language awareness in healthcare and the factors that influence language choice for minority language speakers.

This paper reports on the nurses, midwives and health visitors (NMHV) data set of the first phase of a large-scale national study, commissioned by the Welsh Assembly Government, to examine the nature and extent of Welsh language awareness amongst healthcare professionals in Wales, UK.

The study involved a questionnaire survey of healthcare professionals working in the public, private and voluntary sectors of healthcare.

A stratified random sample of 3358 healthcare professionals was surveyed, of which 1842 (55%) were nurses, midwives and health visitors. The researcher-designed self-administered questionnaire was distributed by post to participants between July and September 2003. A total of 1042 (57%) NMHV returned their questionnaires for analysis.

A strong positive correlation is identified between the NMHV use of the Welsh language in practice and their Welsh language proficiency (p<.01); language attitudes (p<.01); and language region (p<.01). Mean language attitude scores are more positive than expected, particularly amongst those with limited Welsh language proficiency and those working in regions with the lowest proportions of Welsh speakers.

In view of the universal drive for culturally and linguistically appropriate healthcare practice, the findings have important implications for bilingual and multilingual healthcare settings worldwide. The evidence emerging from this survey confirms that cross-cultural communication is enhanced by NMHV language attitudes as well as their proficiency levels. Language awareness training is therefore recommended as a way of enhancing care delivery for minority language speakers.