The Role of Language in Hospital Admissions: The COVID-19 Experience in a Safety-Net Hospital Emergency Department

Emergency departments (EDs) are often patients' first point of contact with the health care system. Race, ethnicity, and language all influence factors leading up to ED visits and patient experiences within the ED. There is limited evidence showing how race, ethnicity, and language interact to shape ED experiences, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic when EDs were extremely strained.

Using a retrospective review, we evaluated the association of race, ethnicity and preferred language on hospital admissions from the ED for patients with COVID-19 in an urban, safety-net hospital during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic before vaccines were widely available.

We performed a nested regression analysis using generalized estimating equation (GEE) logit models to estimate the impact of language, race, and ethnicity on hospital admissions while controlling for other health conditions and healthcare utilization.

Patients who spoke Spanish and were Latino had 72% higher odds [95% confidence interval (CI):1.34-2.2] of hospital admission compared to patients who were White and spoke English. Patients who were Asian, the majority of whom also spoke languages other than English, had 130% higher odds (95% CI: 1.39-3.92) of hospital admission compared to patients who were White and English Speaking.

Findings suggest multiple mechanisms influence hospital admissions for patients who are racially and ethnically minoritized and speak Spanish. Providers may have admitted patients as a precaution rather than because of more advanced illness. Evaluating race, ethnicity, and language concurrently can reveal how intersectional factors shape patient experiences in the ED.