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

AbstractIndividuals 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 si xty 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 o f 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 safe ty.
Source: Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: research