title: Satisfaction With Communication in Primary Care for Spanish-Speaking and English-Speaking Parents.
abstract: Effective communication with primary care physicians is important yet incompletely understood for Spanish-speaking parents. We predicted lower satisfaction among Spanish-speaking compared to English-speaking Latino and non-Latino parents.
  
  
  
  Cross-sectional analysis at 2-month well visits within the Greenlight study at 4 pediatric resident clinics. Parents reported satisfaction with 14 physician communication items using the validated Communication Assessment Tool (CAT). High satisfaction was defined as "excellent" on each CAT item. Mean estimations compared satisfaction for communication items among Spanish- and English-speaking Latinos and non-Latinos. We used generalized linear regression modeling, adjusted for parent age, education, income, and clinic site. Among Spanish-speaking parents, we compared visits conducted in Spanish with and without an interpreter, and in English.
  
  
  
  Compared to English-speaking Latino (n = 127) and non-Latino parents (n = 432), fewer Spanish-speaking parents (n = 303) reported satisfaction with 14 communication items. No significant differences were found between English-speaking Latinos and non-Latinos. Greatest differences were found in the use of a greeting that made the parent comfortable (59.4% of Spanish-speaking Latinos endorsing "excellent" vs 77.5% English-speaking Latinos, P < .01) and discussing follow-up (62.5% of Spanish-speaking Latinos vs 79.8% English-speaking Latinos, P < .01). After adjusting for parent age, education, income, and study site, Spanish-speaking Latinos were still less likely to report high satisfaction with these communication items. Satisfaction was not different among Spanish-speaking parents when the physician spoke Spanish versus used an interpreter.
  
  
  
  Satisfaction with physician communication was associated with language but not ethnicity. Spanish-speaking parents less frequently report satisfaction with communication, and innovative solutions to enhance communication quality are needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC. Electronic address: kflower@unc.edu.
authors.forename: Kori B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Flower
authors.affiliation: Duke University, Duke Clinical Research Institute, Durham, NC.
authors.forename: Asheley C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Skinner
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine/Bellevue Hospital Center, New York University, New York, NY.
authors.forename: H Shonna
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: Center for Health Services Research, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn.
authors.forename: Russell L
authors.initials: RL
authors.lastname: Rothman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Center for Policy, Outcomes and Prevention, Stanford University, Stanford, Calif.
authors.forename: Lee M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami School of Medicine, Miami, Fla.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Delamater
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.
authors.forename: Eliana M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Perrin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D003376:Counseling; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D010290:Parents; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010372:Pediatrics; D011320:Primary Health Care; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D000070319:Student Run Clinic; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Spanish speaking; parent satisfaction; physician communication