Communicating With Spanish-Speaking Families of Hospitalized Children With Medical Complexity

Area of Science:

• Healthcare communication
• Pediatric patient safety
• Linguistic diversity in healthcare

Background:

• Hospitalized families using languages other than English (LOE) encounter significant communication challenges.
• Children with medical complexity (CMC) also face unique communication barriers in healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To understand communication challenges and identify opportunities for improving care for families using LOE.
• To gather perspectives from hospital staff and Spanish-speaking parents of CMC.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative descriptive methodology using thematic analysis.
• Secondary analysis of existing transcripts and primary data collection through semistructured interviews.
• Interviews conducted with parents, physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and leaders.

Main Results:

• Five key themes emerged: bias, trust and relationships, language-concordant care, communication workarounds, and technology's impact.
• Participants suggested increasing interpreter access, optimizing technology, and providing bias-reduction training.
• Identified challenges and opportunities in communicating with hospitalized families using LOE.

Conclusions:

• Both parents of CMC and healthcare staff recognize communication challenges and opportunities.
• Effective solutions must address the needs of all parties involved to improve communication and safety for families using LOE.