Language barrier in healthcare

• Language barriers in healthcare exists in instances where a care provider and a patient cannot communicate effectively due to differences in the language they speak.

• Language barrier is two way in that, it can occur when a patient is not a native speaker or when a care provider is practicing where he/she is not a native speaker.

• Patients from ethnic and racial minorities are at higher risk of having language barriers, further increasing the health disparities they face (Ali & Watson, 2018).

How language barrier influences patient education and Morbidity and Mortality Rates

• Patient education

Miscommunication

Misinterpretation of health information

Low health literacy

• Morbidity and Mortality Rates

Underutilization of preventive care

Poor access to care

Adverse events associated with poor interpretation or understanding of medical information (Al Shamsi, Almutairi, Al Mashrafi & Al Kalbani, 2020).

How to improve culturally sensitive care in patients facing language barrier

• Providing interpretation services

• Recruiting and retaining minority staff

• Utilizing technology to enhance communication and accessibility of medical information.

• Utilizing community health workers.

• Including family members in decision making and

• Learning the language spoken by natives in your geographical area of practice

• Creating cultural awareness in workplaces (Nair & Adetayo, 2019).