How Speaking the "Wrong" Language is Limiting Access to Quality Care

Being bilingual has always been cool. It does not matter what type of setting I’m in, the response is the same: “Wow, that's amazing!” “How did you learn another language”, all of course followed by the classic “How do you say my name in Spanish?” 

What do you think, Chloe? 

Okay, that sounded a bit mean. Still, it feels like everytime I tell someone I can fluently speak Spanish, I’m being celebrated, receiving some sort of recognition or praise that I really did not have to put in any effort to receive. 

Of course I love the shocked looks on the faces of my peers or the amazement that infiltrates their gazes when I tell them, but for others this is not considered an advantage, but rather something that drags you down. 

Here’s the thing: 

If you only speak English, you’re normal. If you speak English and Spanish, you’re a little more interesting. But if you only speak one language–the wrong one (Spanish)--somehow you’re less than normal: abnormal. You’re strange, a foreigner, someone who can’t communicate and is thus considered in the wrong place. 

Where can this be seen in healthcare settings? 

Everywhere. 

According to the U.S. According to the Consensus Bureau and AAMC, only about 6% of physicians identify as Hispanic and thus Spanish-Speaking. Even though millions of Spanish speakers reside in this country, the number of physicians who can properly understand them is just not enough. 

From simple family visits to urgent needs, healthcare is something that should not only be accessible to all, but understandable as well. 

Obviously, we can’t blame the physicians who just don’t speak Spanish because it’s not their fault and we can’t just force them to learn a language that is today considered simply supplemental in the U.S. (though it is quite literally the second most spoken language in the U.S. with over 40 million speakers, but who's counting). 

The problem lies more deeply in the fact that we know thousands of families and children and communities avoid adequate healthcare because they cannot find the words, the descriptions for what is wrong with their bodies. 

Several studies have also found that being provided with translators can add additional costs to an individual’s hospital visit; it is quite literally shocking and devastating that money or lack of such can so easily dictate an individual’s life simply because of a failure to communicate. 

I admire doctors and physicians who go out of their way to ensure their patients know what is wrong and what needs to be done next. Because just because you can’t properly understand someone who walks through the door, just because their accent is a little thick, and just because they speak the “wrong” language does not automatically mean they are less human, less deserving. 

Not communicating clearly often results in a decline in the quality of care that is provided. It creates a systemic barrier that has not yet been overcome not because we can’t, but because we simply choose not to. 

It is easier to recommend doctors that can actually understand an individual rather than to be that doctor. It is easier to ask the child accompanying their parent to the hospital room to translate rather than acquire an experienced individual. And it is easier to shut them away and offer simpler solutions than it is to thoroughly explain what is truly wrong. 

So, what can we do about it? 

I really want to offer some practical solutions, not just pulling up google translate. Instead, I think there are other ways we can help communicate important information in healthcare. 

Although picture books and diagrams may seem silly and childish, maybe showing what is wrong through a language we can all understand–pictures– is one way to help convey what the problem is. 

Taking the time to learn simple medical terms in Spanish or other languages should be something all physicians strive to learn. This way, we can provide care to anyone who walks through those doors. 

There are countless apps and websites online like Care to Translate which you can download on your phone today!

Be part of the change, be a barrier breaker. 

Let’s find ways to communicate with each other without blaming the person who speaks the “wrong” language.