title: Pharmacy language assistance resources and their association with pharmacists' self-efficacy in communicating with Spanish-speaking patients.
abstract: Spanish-speaking patients experience significant disparities in care and poorer health outcomes in comparison to English-speaking patients, often due to language barriers. Providers should be equipped with resources to effectively communicate with Spanish-speaking patients to provide the best possible care.
  
  
  
  The purpose of this study is to examine the resources available to support pharmacists' communication with Spanish-speaking patients.
  
  
  
  A cross-sectional study design was used to examine language-assistance resources in community pharmacies throughout the state of Illinois. A telephone survey contained items to examine the accessibility, frequency of use, ease of use, and helpfulness of language-assistance resources; items were rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale (1 = Never to 5 = Always). The survey also included nine items to assess pharmacists' self-efficacy in communicating with Spanish-speaking patients. Purposeful sampling was utilized to increase the likelihood of obtaining information from pharmacies serving Hispanic populations. The sample was categorized into high and low Spanish-speaking populations based on pharmacists' self-reported data. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine relationships between language-assistance resources and pharmacist self-efficacy.
  
  
  
  A total of 231 community pharmacists participated in the survey. The most accessible language-assistance resources were computer-based (92%) and telephone help lines (80%). Among various computer-based resources, Spanish labels (M = 2.12, SD = 1.58) and leaflets (M = 2.04, SD = 1.49) were the most frequently used. Computer generated Spanish leaflets and labels, and language-assistance telephone lines were also perceived to be easier to use and more helpful in comparison to paper-based resources and personnel. Respondents also reported that it was easy to use friends and family (M = 3.5, SD = 1.8) and that they were helpful (M = 3.58, SD = 1.26). Access to computer-based resources (β = 0.16, P = 0.02), and to family or friends who speak Spanish (β = 0.24, P < 0.01) were significantly associated with self-efficacy (P < 0.01), after controlling for race and education.
  
  
  
  Despite having access to computer-based resources and language-assistance telephone lines, pharmacists rarely used these resources to communicate with Spanish-speaking patients. Efforts such as workplace resource training and pharmacy school cultural competency curricula should be implemented to promote as well as support pharmacists' use of language-assistance resources to provide optimal care to Spanish-speaking patients.
authors.affiliation: Southern Illinois University Edwardsville School of Pharmacy, 200 University Park Drive, Suite 250, Edwardsville, IL 62026- 2000, USA. Electronic address: rdevraj@siue.edu.
authors.forename: Radhika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Devraj
authors.affiliation: University of Georgia College of Pharmacy, 250 W. Green Street, Athens, Georgia 30602, USA.
authors.forename: Henry N
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003142:Communication; D003144:Communication Barriers; D003157:Community Pharmacy Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D054521:Cultural Competency; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007087:Illinois; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010595:Pharmacists / Q000458:organization & administration*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Communication; Language-assistance resources/services; Pharmacists' resources; Spanish resources; Spanish-speaking patients