background hispanics comprise 17% of the total u.s. population, surpassing african-americans as the largest minority group. linguistically, almost 60 million people speak a language other than english. this language diversity can create barriers and additional burden and risk when seeking health services. patients with limited english proficiency (lep) for example, have been shown to experience...

OBJECTIVE Patients with limited health literacy (LHL) and limited English proficiency (LEP) experience suboptimal communication and health outcomes. Electronic health record implementation in safety net clinics may affect communication with LHL and LEP patients.We investigated the associations between safety net clinician computer use and patient-provider communication for patients with LEP and...

BACKGROUND Individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) constitute an increasing share of the patient population in American healthcare settings. Few studies have described the patient's perspective on barriers to medical interpretation and experiences in the clinical setting. METHODS We conducted focus groups with 22 LEP Spanish-speaking adults. Focus groups were transcribed and analyz...

We analyzed existing test data and student background data from four different school sites nationwide to examine whether standardized test results may be confounded by the lack of language proficiency of English language learners. Several analyses comparing the performance of limited English proficient (LEP) students and their non-LEP classmates revealed major differences. A Disparity Index wa...

the article by cheri wilson, “patient safety and healthcare quality: the case for language access”, highlights 
the challenges of providing culturally and linguistically appropriate services (clas) to patients with 
limited english proficiency (lep). as the us pursues high-value, high-performance healthcare, our ability 
to meet the needs of our most vulnerable will determine whether we succeed...

The article by Cheri Wilson, “Patient Safety and Healthcare Quality: The Case for Language Access”, highlights 
the challenges of providing Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) to patients with 
Limited English Proficiency (LEP). As the US pursues high-value, high-performance healthcare, our ability 
to meet the needs of our most vulnerable will determine whether we succeed...

BACKGROUND Communication between patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) and telephone triage services has not been previously explored. The purpose of this study was to determine the utilization characteristics of a primary care triage call center by patients with LEP. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study of the utilization of a computer-aided, nurse-led telephone triage sys...

Latino immigrants have recently spread beyond traditional US enclaves to “emerging destinations.” The arrival of limited English proficiency (LEP) Spanish-speakers to these areas can challenge the health care system, as translation services may not be readily available for LEP patients. Trained auditors posed as family members of LEP patients seeking primary care in a safety net setting. We fou...

The authors examined the relationship between low health literacy (LHL), limited English proficiency (LEP), and meeting current U.S. Preventive Service Task Force colorectal cancer (CRC) screening guidelines for Asians and Whites in California. For 1,478 Asian and 14,410 White respondents 50-75 years of age in the 2007 California Health Interview Survey, the authors examined meeting CRC screeni...