COVID-19 Education for Health Professionals Caring for Spanish-Speaking Patients

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected Hispanics in the United States, who make up 18% of US inhabitants but 29% of COVID-19 cases as of June 2021. Recent studies have attributed higher COVID-19 infection, hospitalization, and death rates among Hispanics to social determinants of health. Given that the majority of US Hispanics are bilingual or Spanish-dominant, it is imperative for health care providers to be prepared to discuss COVID-19 prevention and treatment in Spanish.

We developed an interactive workshop aimed at increasing health professionals' confidence in discussing COVID-19 prevention, risk factors, and treatments with Spanish-speaking patients. Learners were expected to have an intermediate level or higher proficiency in medical Spanish. The workshop consisted of a PowerPoint presentation and English/Spanish scripts to facilitate interactive learning. The workshop was evaluated using a postworkshop questionnaire to assess learners' perceived confidence in communicating with Spanish-speaking patients.

The workshop was implemented with 70 participants, who had diverse ethnoracial identities and professional roles, at five different medical schools. Fifty-three participants completed the postworkshop questionnaire. More than 50% reported near complete to complete confidence in meeting the three learning objectives.

With Hispanics being the largest non-White ethnoracial group in the US and being disproportionally affected by COVID-19, it is essential for health professionals to access training tools that allow them to practice medical Spanish. This module can uniquely aid in the preparation of health professionals caring for Spanish-speaking patients who present with COVID-19 symptoms.