| |
| author |
Jennifer Arias
| | title |
Evaluación de los factores que contribuyen a la comodidad: Experiencias de profesionales de la salud en la comunicación con pacientes hispanohablantes en los Estados Unidos
| | abstract |
Existing literature provides evidence of the varied and extensive disparities faced by language
minority individuals in the United States healthcare system. This paper seeks to understand the
factors that contribute to language deficiencies and miscommunication between healthcare
workers and their patients, focusing on the experience of Spanish speakers in the United States.
To deepen and expand the literature on the topic, healthcare workers were surveyed (N = 168)
based on their experience communicating with Spanish-speaking patients. The study identifies
trends in communication stress, comfort levels, availability of resources, and frequency of use of
different interpretation resources. Results showed that Spanish-speaking healthcare workers (n =
29) reported feeling more comfortable on average in understanding and relaying information to
and from Spanish-speaking patients. Moreover, non-Spanish-speaking healthcare workers (n =
139) reported feeling statistically significantly less comfortable utilizing patient children as
intermediary persons in communicating with Spanish-speaking patients. Patient family members
were the most frequently utilized language resource among both groups of healthcare workers,
being used an average of one to two times a week. These findings emphasize the perspective of
healthcare workers on language barriers, clarifying where problems are emerging and steps
towards greater health equity efforts.
| | school |
The College of Liberal Arts, Drew University
| | degree |
B.A. (2025)
|
| advisor |
Maria Turrero-Garcia
|
| full text | JArias.pdf |
| |
