Inpatient Communication Barriers and Drivers When Caring for Limited English Proficiency Children

Achieving effective communication between medical providers and families with limited English proficiency (LEP) in the hospital is difficult.

Our objective was to identify barriers to and drivers of effective interpreter service use when caring for hospitalized LEP children from the perspectives of pediatric medical providers and interpreters.

We used Group Level Assessment (GLA), a structured qualitative participatory method that allows participants to directly produce and analyze data in an interactive group session. Participants from a single academic children's hospital generated individual responses to prompts and identified themes and relevant action items. Themes were further consolidated by our research team and verified by stakeholder groups.

Four GLA sessions were conducted including 64 participants: hospital medicine physicians and pediatric residents (56%), inpatient nursing staff (16%), and interpreter services staff (28%). Barriers identified included: (1) difficulties accessing interpreter services; (2) uncertainty in communication with LEP families; (3) unclear and inconsistent expectations and roles of team members; and (4) unmet family engagement expectations. Drivers of effective communication were: (1) utilizing a team-based approach between medical providers and interpreters; (2) understanding the role of cultural context in providing culturally effective care; (3) practicing empathy for patients and families; and (4) using effective family-centered communication strategies.

Participants identified unique barriers and drivers that impact communication with LEP patients and their families during hospitalization. Future directions include exploring the perspective of LEP families and utilizing team-based and family-centered communication strategies to standardize and improve communication practices.