Patient Caregiver Perspectives on Accessing Language Interpretation in a Pediatric Emergency Department

Patients and caregivers with a language for care other than English (LOE) are at risk for inequitable care in the pediatric emergency department (ED). Professional interpretation (PI) improves outcomes, but there can be complexity in determining optimal language for care and interpretation need. Our goal was to learn more about the perspectives from caregivers who speak different languages regarding interpretation with a survey near ED discharge. Caregivers of patients with LOE, identified during ED check-in, were approached by research staff using PI near ED discharge. A survey was completed via interpreter or bilingual research staff prior to discharge or by phone within 48 h. Answers were entered into REDCap and analyzed descriptively. A total of 154 participants were approached; 49 completed a survey between April and November 2021. A variety of languages were spoken in the sample (n = 15) and represented the ED population. Twenty percent of caregivers with LOE also reported good comprehension in English. Families indicated a desire for interpretation at various stages of the ED encounter, reported different interpretation needs among family members, and indicated interest in family-initiated interpreter access. Determining optimal language for care and provision of PI during ED encounters can be complex. In this study, we report caregiver perspectives on the use of PI. Most participants wanted PI at all stages of the ED visit and were interested in accessing it themselves. Future directions are to pilot family-initiated access to PI to tailor its use to the needs of patients and families.