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Cited by 998Interpreting and Communication in HealthcareTranslation Studies and PracticesPatient-Provider Communication in Healthcare

Implications of language barriers for healthcare: a systematic review

Open access
Al Shamsi, Hilal, Almutairi, Abdullah G., Al Mashrafi, Sulaiman, Al Kalbani, Talib·2020·Oman Medical Journal
DOI 10.5001/omj.2020.40PMC PMC7201401
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Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Language barriers pose challenges in terms of achieving high levels of satisfaction among medical professionals and patients, providing high- quality healthcare and maintaining patient safety. To address these challenges, many larger healthcare institutions offer interpreter services to improve healthcare access, patient satisfaction, and communication. However, these services increase the cost and duration of treatment. The purpose of this review is to investigate the impact of language barriers on healthcare and to suggest solutions to address the challenges. METHODS: We identified published studies on the implications of language barriers in healthcare using two databases: PubMed and Medline. We included 14 studies that met the selection criteria. These studies were conducted in various countries, both developed and developing, though most came from the US. The 14 studies included 300 918 total participants, with participation in each study ranging from 21 to 22 353 people. RESULTS: We found that language barriers in healthcare lead to miscommunication between the medical professional and patient, reducing both parties' satisfaction and decreasing the quality of healthcare delivery and patient safety. In addition, the review found that interpreter services contribute indirectly to increased cost and the length of treatment visits. One study reported the implementation of online translation tools such as Google Translate and MediBabble in hospitals, which increased the satisfaction of both medical providers and patients (to 92%) and improved the quality of healthcare delivery and patient safety. Language barriers are responsible for reducing the satisfaction of medical providers and patients, as well as the quality of healthcare delivery and patient safety. Many healthcare institutions use interpreter services that increase the cost and length of treatment visits. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our review suggest that implementing online translation tools such as Google Translate and MediBabble may improve the quality of healthcare and the level of satisfaction among both medical providers and patients.

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  • The selection of covariates was made a priori based on factors known to influence interhospital transfer.

    “The selection of covariates was made a priori based on factors known to influence IHT.”

    From Racial and ethnic disparities in interhospital transfer for complex emergency general surgical disease across the United States (2023) · cites this paper as [27]

    The Methods section describes selecting studies for a review of language barriers, not selecting covariates for an interhospital-transfer analysis. Searches for the quoted wording and for interhospital transfer, IHT, and covariates found no passage addressing the claim. Page numbers were not available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.78)

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Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. [1]Slade S, Sergent SR. Language barrier. In: StatPearls [Internet]: StatPearls Publishing; 2018. 29939596
  2. [14]de Moissac D Bowen S Impact of language barriers on quality of care and patient safety for official language minority francophones in Canada. J Patient Exp 2019 Mar; 6(1): 24- 32. 10.1177/2374373518769008 31236448 PMC6572938 · DOI · Paper page
  3. [23]Salam A. Job stress and job satisfaction among health care professionals. Qatar Foundation Annual Research Conference Proceedings; 2016 HBKU Press Qatar p. HBOP2571.
  4. [30]Rahman AA Rising up to the challenge: strategies to improve health care delivery for resettled Syrian refugees in Canada. Univ Toronto Med J 2017; 94(1): 42.

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Authors
Al Shamsi, H., Almutairi, A. G., Al Mashrafi, S., & Al Kalbani, T.
Affiliations
Ministry of Health (SA)
ORCID
Almutairi, Abdullah G.
Venue
Oman Medical Journal
Publisher
Oman Medical Journal
Published
2020-03-15
Volume
35
Issue
2
Pages
e122-e122
ISSN
  • 1999-768X (ISSN-L)
  • 2070-5204
DOI
10.5001/omj.2020.40
PMC
PMC7201401
OpenAlex
W3021854208
Cited by
998
References
24
Citations by year
2026: 199 · 2025: 245 · 2024: 243 · 2023: 179 · 2022: 96 · 2021: 35 · 2020: 1
FWCI
14.82
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
  • Oman Medical Journal (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Language and Linguistics › Translation Studies and Practices
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
Keywords
language barriers, healthcare communication, medical interpreters, online translation tools, Google Translate, patient satisfaction, provider satisfaction, patient safety, quality of care, health care costs

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