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Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health
Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 4/2019

01-08-2019 | Review Paper

Exploring the ‘Patient Experience’ of Individuals with Limited English Proficiency: A Scoping Review

Authors: Ariel Yeheskel, Shail Rawal

Published in: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health | Issue 4/2019

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Abstract

Individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) face barriers to safe and high-quality health care. ‘Patient-experience’ is increasingly viewed as an important component of health care quality. However, the impact of language proficiency on ‘patient-experience’ is not well-described. This scoping review mapped the literature on the patient experience of individuals with LEP. We reviewed sixty qualitative and mixed-methods studies from EMBASE and MEDLINE published between 2007 and 2017. We identified four major themes: (1) Communication, language barriers, and health literacy, (2) Relationships with health care professionals, (3) Discrimination and intersection with other dimensions of identity, and (4) Cultural safety. We also identified factors that may improve LEP patient experience, including: mitigating language barriers through interpretation or language-concordant providers, offering translated patient resources, and educating health care professionals about cultural safety.
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Metadata
Title
Exploring the ‘Patient Experience’ of Individuals with Limited English Proficiency: A Scoping Review
Authors
Ariel Yeheskel
Shail Rawal
Publication date
01-08-2019
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health / Issue 4/2019
Print ISSN: 1557-1912
Electronic ISSN: 1557-1920
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-018-0816-4

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