INTRODUCTION The emergency telephone number 9-1-1 serves as a lifeline to the public during emergencies, and first responders rely on information gathered by 9-1-1 telecommunicators who speak with callers. Timely, accurate information from the telecommunicators is essential for providing appropriate care on scene. Language barriers can hamper these efforts and result in less efficient informati...

BACKGROUND Immigrants and refugees to the United States have a higher prevalence of depression compared to the general population and are less likely to receive adequate mental health services and treatment. Those with limited English proficiency (LEP) are at an even higher risk of inadequate mental health care. Collaborative care management (CCM) models for depression are effective in achievin...

BACKGROUND Individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) constitute an increasing share of the patient population in American healthcare settings. Few studies have described the patient's perspective on barriers to medical interpretation and experiences in the clinical setting. METHODS We conducted focus groups with 22 LEP Spanish-speaking adults. Focus groups were transcribed and analyz...

^ ^ ^ ^ a l m Beach County, FL, well-known as the winter home of ^ ^ V s o m e of our country's wealthiest families, is p o m e t i m e s called the "golf capital of the world." But there is I a lesser-known side to this county of 1.3 million residents, in which 15 percent of the children live in poverty and nearly 19 percent of all residents are uninsured. Because many Palm Beach Countians are...

The article by Cheri Wilson, “Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality: The Case for Language Access”, highlights 
the challenges of providing Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) to patients with 
Limited English Proficiency (LEP). As the US pursues high-value, high-performance healthcare, our ability 
to meet the needs of our most vulnerable will determine whether we succeed...

BACKGROUND Significant health disparities exist between limited English proficient and English-proficient patients. Little is known about the impact of language services on chronic disease outcomes such as for diabetes. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS To determine whether the amount and type of language services received during primary care visits had an impact on diabetes-related outcomes (hospit...