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Deconstructing language barriers in healthcare: Where are we going wrong?

Venkatesan, Tim; Naqvi, Daniel; Patel, Bakula

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Authors

Tim Venkatesan

Daniel Naqvi

BAKULA PATEL BAKULA.PATEL@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Director of Clinical Communication Skill S



Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has sharply brought to light the need to address inequalities in health. Language barriers have been demonstrated to be a major determinant in the inequality in healthcare received by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) and migrant patients. While working in a busy, multicultural London hospital, bridging language barriers have been one of the biggest challenges to delivering healthcare in this setting.

In this short article, we wish to deconstruct what we believe to be the fundamental practical challenges to successfully communicating with Limited-English-Proficient (LEP) patients. We identify that although this is a complex issue, there are several key areas that need to be addressed. Although we do not have a comprehensive solution, we hope that through outlining the major issues, we can empower a mandate for change.

Citation

Venkatesan, T., Naqvi, D., & Patel, B. (2022). Deconstructing language barriers in healthcare: Where are we going wrong?. Postgraduate Medical Journal, 98(1157), 157-158. https://doi.org/10.1136/postgradmedj-2021-140538

Journal Article Type Editorial
Acceptance Date Jun 5, 2021
Online Publication Date Jun 30, 2021
Publication Date 2022-03
Deposit Date Jul 22, 2021
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Postgraduate Medical Journal
Print ISSN 0032-5473
Electronic ISSN 1469-0756
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 98
Issue 1157
Pages 157-158
DOI https://doi.org/10.1136/postgradmedj-2021-140538
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5814302
Publisher URL https://pmj.bmj.com/content/early/2021/06/29/postgradmedj-2021-140538

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