Teaching Spanish to pediatric emergency physicians: effects on patient satisfaction.
BACKGROUND
Language barriers are known to negatively affect patient satisfaction.


OBJECTIVE
To determine whether a course of instruction in medical Spanish for pediatric emergency department (ED) physicians is associated with an increase in satisfaction for Spanish-speaking-only families.


METHODS
Nine pediatric ED physicians completed a 10-week medical Spanish course. Mock clinical scenarios and testing were used to establish an improvement in each physician's ability to communicate with Spanish-speaking-only families. Before (preintervention period) and after (postintervention period) the course, Spanish-speaking-only families cared for by these physicians completed satisfaction questionnaires. Professional interpreters were equally available during both the preintervention and postintervention periods.


METHODS
Responses to patient family satisfaction questionnaires.


RESULTS
A total of 143 Spanish-speaking-only families completed satisfaction questionnaires. Preintervention (n = 85) and postintervention (n = 58) cohorts did not differ significantly in age, vital signs, length of ED visit, discharge diagnosis, or self-reported English proficiency. Physicians used a professional interpreter less often in the postintervention period (odds ratio [OR], 0.34; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.16-0.71). Postintervention families were significantly more likely to strongly agree that "the physician was concerned about my child" (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.0-4.2), "made me feel comfortable" (OR, 2.6; 95% CI, 1.1-4.4), "was respectful" (OR, 3.0; 95% CI, 1.4-6.5), and "listened to what I said" (OR, 2.9; 95% CI, 1.4-5.9).


CONCLUSIONS
A 10-week medical Spanish course for pediatric ED physicians was associated with decreased interpreter use and increased family satisfaction.
Mazor
Suzan S
SS
Division of Emergency Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, Children's Memorial Hospital, 2300 Children's Plaza, Box 62, Chicago, IL 60614, USA. s-mazor2@northwestern.edu
Hampers
Louis C
LC
Chande
Vidya T
VT
Krug
Steven E
SE
D000328:Adult; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003144:Communication Barriers; D004635:Emergency Medicine / Q000193:education; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D017060:Patient Satisfaction / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000193:education; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D014175:Translating; D014481:United States