Medical Interpretation Resource Guide

Environment

How do I make sure the physical space is welcoming to people who do not speak English?
A culturally competent workplace will demonstrate respect for the beliefs and traditions of its patients and its staff. One way to let people know that you value other cultures is to have visuals depicting people of other races, ethnicities or religions. These could be paintings or sculptures representing a variety of cultures, posters providing information in a number of languages, or health education materials in languages other than English. These activities are supported by the Recommended Standards for Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Health Care Services (CLAS) developed by The Office of Minority Health(Standard 7). "Health Care Organizations must make available easily understood patient-related materials and post signage in the languages of the commonly encountered groups and/or groups represented in the service area." One of the ways to assure a culturally appropriate environment is to evaluate the physical space to determine if things need to be done to make people who do not speak English feel more welcome.

Is your environment culturally appropriate?

• Are there positive images of people from diverse cultures?
• Do you offer written materials such as posters, pamphlets and health information in languages other than English?
• Does your signage reflect other written languages?
• How could signage in other languages be incorporated into your site?
• Is adaptive equipment for deaf and hard of hearing patients available?

High-volume languages can be determined by the organization's patient base or by its service area. The Office of Civil Rights (OCR) resolution agreement with Maine Medical Center suggests that "translations into additional languages shall be printed when (the organization's) patient census data shows that 50 or more LEP persons speaking that language have utilized services within the prior 12 months."

One caution is that if an organization is located in a service area which "houses" LEP persons of a certain language but the patient census data is less than 50, they may not be accessing services where they are not welcome. Outreach may be needed within these communities.

What materials are recommended for written translation?

• Patient grievance procedures
• Patient financial policies
• Notice of free medical care for those unable to pay
• Patient rights & responsibilities - non discrimination notice
• Patient consent forms

There are adaptive communication technologies available for deaf and hard of hearing individuals that an organization may want to explore to increase the satisfaction of deaf and hard of hearing patients.

Resources:
Where do I go for materials?

• Multilingual posters- free wall-sized poster, call Tele-Interpreters-800-811-7881
• I speak cards, www.palsforhealth.org/ispeak.htm
• Educational materials/flyers in other languages - 24 Language Project, http://medstat.med.utah.edu/24languages/
• Pain assessment, www.partnersagainstpain.com/index_mp.aspx?sid=3+aid=7692
• US Census Language Identification flash cards, www.usdoj.gov/crt/cor/pubs/ispeakcards2004.pdf
• Office of Minority Health Resource Center, www.omhre.gov/
• Patient Education Resources for Clinicians (EnglishSpanish/low literacy), www.ohsu.edu/library/patiented
• Ethnic medical information, www.Ethnomed.org
• Family Resource Center, Spanish language materials, www.state.nh.us/nhsl/frc
• New South Wales Multicultural Health Communication Service, http://mhcs.health.nsw.gov.au
• Free Health Information in various languages, www.healthyroadsmedia.org
• Hear-More, 1-800-881-4327 or www.hearmore.com
• ADCO Hearing Products, 1-800-726-0851, or www.adcohearing.com
• Selected Patient Information Resources in Asian Languages, http://spiral.tufts.edu
• Multilingual Consumer Health Information, www.nnlm.gov/train.chi/multi.html
• Multicultural Tool Kit, www.awesomelibrary.org/multiculturaltoolkit.html
• Plain Language and Culture, www.plculture.org
• Free Resources for learning languages, www.languageguide.org
• A sample of signage that demonstrates a welcoming environment:

"Welcome. (Organization Name) will provide interpreter services at no cost to limited English proficient patients and families. Patients do not have to provide their own interpreters. Please ask for assistance."

This sign could be printed in the languages that are deemed by the organization to be high volume. (See assessment section of this resource guide)