Language Justice as Health Equity in Palliative Care: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Palliative Care
• Health Equity
• Medical Communication

Background:

• Effective communication is vital for quality healthcare.
• Palliative care settings frequently encounter linguistic diversity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the existing literature on language interpreting in palliative care.
• To assess stakeholder involvement in dissemination of findings.

Main Methods:

• Scoping review of three databases using keywords related to palliative care, communication barriers, and interpretation.
• Included original research, reports on tools/curricula, and opinion pieces.
• Utilized National Consensus Project (NCP) Guidelines for coding, with a focus on health equity and language justice.

Main Results:

• Identified four key themes in 31 products: language discordance as a barrier, value of interpreters, training needs, and team inclusion.
• Most products acknowledged language-based inequity, with fewer describing mitigation strategies or interventions.
• No studies described achieving language justice.

Conclusions:

• Integrating interpreters, patients, and families as team members is crucial for equitable care and language justice.
• Growing interventional studies highlight the significant value of interpreters in palliative care.
• Collaboration with diverse linguistic stakeholders is essential for optimal communication and health equity.