title: Examining differences in nurses' language, accent, and comprehensibility in nursing home settings based on birth origin and country of education.
abstract: As nursing homes turn abroad to fill vacancies, the diverse linguistic backgrounds of nurse hires are creating new challenges in comprehensibility between nurses, providers, and residents. Accents are a natural part of spoken language that may present difficulty even when the parties involved are speaking the same language. We surveyed 1,629 nurses working in 98 nursing homes (NHs) in five U.S. states to determine if and how language difficulties were perceived by nurses and others (e.g. physicians, residents and family members). We found that when participants were asked how often other care team members and residents/families had difficulty understanding them due to language use or accent, foreign born nurses were significantly more likely to report that they experienced difficulty at least some of the time across all groups. This study supports an assessment of nurses' language, accents, and comprehensibility in these settings.
authors.affiliation: University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing, Department of Community Health Systems, 2 Koret Way, #511R, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA. Electronic address: laura.wagner@nursing.ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.affiliation: The University of Michigan School of Nursing, 400 North Ingalls, Room 3304, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5482, USA.
authors.forename: Barbara L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Brush
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Policy & Management, University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health, A610 Crabtree Hall, 130 De Soto Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA.
authors.forename: Nicholas G
authors.initials: NG
authors.lastname: Castle
authors.affiliation: New York University College of Nursing, 726 Broadway, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10003, USA.
authors.forename: Michelle
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eaton
authors.affiliation: Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, Hunter College, City University of New York, Brookdale Campus West, Room 500A, 425 E. 25th Street #925, NY, NY 10010, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Capezuti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002983:Clinical Competence; D003142:Communication; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003469:Culture; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064700:Nurses, International / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009735:Nursing Homes; D009746:Nursing, Team / Q000458:organization & administration; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
keywords: Accent; Communication; English proficiency; International nurses; Long-term care