The association between primary language and quality of recovery following caesarean section: a prospective...

New Zealand has a diverse population, one quarter classifying themselves as migrants. This study aimed to test the hypothesis that women whose primary language is not English report poorer recovery scores following caesarean section than primary English speakers.

We recruited women to complete the ObsQoR-11 questionnaire 24 h after caesarean section. The questionnaire had been translated into the six most common languages spoken in our hospital. We categorised women into groups by primary language (English or non-English) and compared the ObsQoR-11 score between groups.

Fifty-nine surveys were analysed. Groups did not differ for urgency of surgery, anaesthetic technique or postoperative analgesia. Similar scores were achieved in domains assessing surgical and anaesthetic sequelae, whereas questions about function and ability to care for the baby were scored lower by those whose primary language was not English. The Obs-QoR-11 score was significantly higher in English primary language speakers compared with non-English primary language speakers (mean 81.2, SD 17.7 vs 64.1, SD 20.9, P=0.001; 95% CI of the difference 7.1 to 27.2). Subgroup analysis of the non-English primary language speakers (n=26) showed a mean (SD) of 68.6 (16.9) in those who were fluent in English and 64.1 (26.5) in those who were not (P=0.099, 95% CI of the difference -2.9 to 32.4).

Quality of recovery following caesarean section is poorer in those whose primary language is not English. Further research is needed to elucidate whether this is due to language barriers or other factors.