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The Need for More Research on Language Barriers in Health Care: A Proposed Research Agenda
Author(s) -
JACOBS ELIZABETH,
CHEN ALICE HM,
KARLINER LEAH S.,
AGGERGUPTA NIELS,
MUTHA SUNITA
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
the milbank quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1468-0009
pISSN - 0887-378X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-0009.2006.00440.x
Subject(s) - language barrier , health care , psychological intervention , affect (linguistics) , public relations , face (sociological concept) , nursing , psychology , medicine , medical education , sociology , political science , social science , communication , law
Many U.S. residents who speak little English may face language barriers when seeking health care. This article describes what is currently known about language barriers in health care and outlines a research agenda based on mismatches between the current state of knowledge of language barriers and what health care stakeholders need to know. Three broad areas needing more research are discussed: the ways in which language barriers affect health and health care, the efficacy of linguistic access service interventions, and the costs of language barriers and efforts to overcome them. In each of these areas, we outline specific research questions and recommendations.