December 2005

Hablamos Juntos eUpdate is a periodic electronic newsletter that focuses on current developments in improving patient-provider communication for individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). This is achieved by highlighting activities of the Hablamos Juntos program and our grantees, sharing information on recent advancements and current discussion on language services.

People with limited English proficiency in the United States face many challenges; one of the most significant can be navigating hospitals and other health care facilities. Complicated directions and confusing terminology can make it difficult for non-English speakers to get the care they need in a timely manner. Working with the Society for Environmental Graphic Design (SEGD) and a team of graphic designers Hablamos Juntos has developed and tested 28 universal health care symbols representing important hospital destinations.

Three hundred participants from four language groups: English, Spanish, Indo-European and Asian languages provided input on the comprehension value of candidate symbols. Seventeen of the 28 symbols could be understood by at least 87% of the multilingual testers. The symbols were subsequently tested in the wayfinding systems of four hospitals across the country: Somerville Hospital in Massachusetts; Saint Francis Medical Center in Grand Island, Nebraska; Grady Memorial Hospital in Atlanta; and Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco.

The results were impressive:

• More than 75% of people tested felt the symbols were more effective than text: -symbols were easier to see and understand.
• More than 80% of hospital staff tested felt that symbols would ease the process of giving directions to patients and visitors.

The research team also found symbols were flexible and simple to implement into different health environments, including those with complex wayfinding programs using signs, print and internet features.

Hablamos Juntos and SEGD hope that hospitals nationwide will consider incorporating the universal symbols into their signage. The Universal Symbols in Health Care Workbook, a “how to” guide was developed for hospital CEOs, administrators and other health care professionals to help with adoption of these symbols.

Workbook – Click here to download the workbook and symbols or go to the Signs That Work webpage at www.hablamosjuntos.org.

Poster - A poster of the 28 symbols is also available. Download the poster and see for yourself what a difference symbols could make in helping millions of people find their way to important health care services.

To access the brief click here...

60 Day Public Comment Period
Friday, November 18, 2005 thru Sunday, January 15, 2006

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, also known simply as CDC, is seeking public comment on a draft plan designed to guide future research efforts by the agency and others. CDC Health Protection Research Guide, 2006-2015 is designed to maximize the health impact of public health research by setting a framework of research priorities to guide the collective efforts of CDC, other federal agencies, state and local partners, academic partners, business and worker partners, non-profit organizations, professional societies and the public.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW TO REVIEW THE RESEARCH GUIDE AND SUBMIT YOUR COMMENTS:

http://www.rsvpBOOK.com/custom_pages/50942/index.php

Comments submitted will be considered to produce the final version the Research Guide, expected to be completed in early 2006. For more information contact:

Jamila Rashid, PhD, MPH
Office of Public Health Research (OPHR)/CDC
1600 Clifton Road, N.E., Mailstop D-72
Atlanta, GA 30333
Phone: 404-639-4621
Fax: 404-639-4903
ResearchGuide@cdc.gov
http://www.cdc.gov/od/ophr

Early in 2004 the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care commissioned an international environmental scan of current practices and existing published standards, with the purpose of collecting a representative number of documents about interpreter standards of practice from around the world to assess the similarities and differences between the standards. The reason for performing this scan was the urgent need to create national standards of practice for interpreters in health care. NCIHC used this information together with feedback from focus groups, stakeholders and conferences across the U.S. to draft national standards of practice for interpreters in health care over 2004 and 2005.

In September 2005 the National Council on Interpreting in Health Care, Inc. published a set of guidelines to define what an interpreter is expected to do and the tasks and skills interpreters in health care should be able to perform. NCIHC offer 32 standards to help define eight core values embraced in the interpreters Code of Ethics; accuracy, confidentiality, impartiality, respect, cultural awareness, role boundaries, professionalism and professional development. The standards define how interpreters can meet their core obligation – “the accurate and complete transmission of messages between a patient and provider who do not speak the same language in order to support the patient-provider therapeutic relationship”.

Through examples of what is considered “best practice” by the profession, these standards offer health care interpreters strategies for observing the principles of the code of ethics in day-to-day practice and show how professional interpreters should respond to ethical and other considerations in the performance of their duties.

A copy of the environmental scan and the standards can be downloaded from www.ncihc.org or just click here.

Hablamos Juntos (Spanish for “We Speak Together”) is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to eliminate language barriers that can lead to medical errors and compromise the quality of care. Building on the work of ten demonstration sites around the country Hablamos Juntos is committed to developing practical solutions health care organizations can use to improve the care delivered to limited English proficient patients.

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