How are language barriers bridged in acute hospital care? The tale of two methods of data collection.
OBJECTIVE
To explore language service provision in a pilot hospital study with two methods of data collection.


METHODS
This mixed mode study design comprises a multilingual telephone survey followed by a medical records audit, undertaken at Liverpool Hospital in 2004-05.


RESULTS
Two hundred and fifty-eight patients responded from 360 patients representing nine language groups. About a third of patients with limited English proficiency had used a professional interpreter in hospital. Concordance between the multilingual telephone survey and the medical records audit was apparent, although the telephone survey mostly showed non-significant, higher rates than the audit. While the methods showed high agreement (76%) for frequency of interpreter usage, kappa indicated only fair agreement (PABAK 0.40). Forty-eight percent of the patients preferred relatives as interpreters and 51% felt that their inability to speak English negatively affected their hospital stay.


CONCLUSIONS
Professional interpreter usage is lower than desirable in the hospital, especially in the Emergency Department. Relatives frequently interpret. Under-reporting on the medical record is suggested, implying a need for improved documentation, while possible over-reporting in the telephone survey may relate to recall bias and social acquiescence.
Garrett
Pamela W
PW
Simpson Centre for Health Services Research, University of NSW and Liverpool Health Service, Locked Bag 7103 Liverpool BC, Sydney, NSW 1871, Australia. Pam.Garrett@sswahs.nsw.gov.au
Forero
Roberto
R
Dickson
Hugh G
HG
Klinken Whelan
Anna
A
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001315:Australia; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D014175:Translating