As was highlighted in the May/June 2003 issue of AACVPR's newsletter, News and Views, "...race/ethnic background continues to affect access to health care and the quality of care obtained." To assist rehab professionals in bridging language barriers, below are some web-based resources to aid in direct patient care for individuals whom English is not their primary language.
Web Sites to Watch: Tools to Assist in Overcoming Language Barriers
Sue Keller, BSN, MPH
Many professionals in the cardiac rehabilitation field have at one time or another encountered a situation in which a non-English speaking patient enters your program, and English happens to be the only language you speak. Our first reaction is to communicate to them by speaking slowly; then we try to make ourselves understood by speaking not only slower, but louder. We may even try adding a vowel such as an "e" or an "i" to our words, or start playing charades in hopes of being understood. To assist you in communicating with non-English speaking patients, you can turn to Alta Vista's site "Babel Fish" (http://babelfish.altavista.com/). Babel Fish can translate up to 150 words from English into Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, or Spanish. You can also translate from those languages back into English. If you need cardiac-specific terms translated, turn to the Multilingual Glossary of Technical and Popular Medical Terms at http://allserv.rug.ac.be/~rvdstich/eugloss/welcome.html. This site is not easy to navigate, however, and I recommend using the speed search function. The ability to translate "heart attack" and other cardiac-related terms into nine different European languages is fantastic. An additional multilingual free resource for your program is the "Heart Health and Cardiac Rehabilitation" booklet available for download at (http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/health-public-affairs/mhcs/publications/5585.html). The booklet, available in a PDF file, explains the various components of a cardiac rehabilitation program in simple terms in six different languages (Arabic, English, Greek, Italian, Russian, and Spanish). To help you and your staff address cultural competency, visit http://www.diversityrx.org. Here you will find out how cultural differences can affect the delivery of healthcare.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) has several publications available in both English and Spanish that are useful to program planners. The "Your Heart Your Life: A Lay Health Educator's Manual" (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/heart/latino/lat_mnl.htm), is a 229-page, nine section program manual designed to assist in the promotion of heart health within the Latino community. To complement this manual, download the "Your Heart, Your Life Picture Cards" (http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/prof/heart/latino/pict_crd.htm), which presents pictures and messages in both English and Spanish. Additional NHLBI bilingual publications on preventing heart disease are available at http://emall.nhlbihin.net/product2.asp?sku=55-745. These easy-to-read publications include topics on lowering high blood pressure, cholesterol, weight gain, and even recipes. All NHLBI materials are in the public domain and may be copied and reproduced at no cost; simply cite NHLBI as the source. The Texas Heart Institute's Heart Information Center (http://www.tmc.edu/thi/histopic.html) is an excellent site to turn to when seeking information in English and Spanish on heart-health related topics such as heart medications, surgery, and procedures.