Pediatric Blood and Cancer
Volume 63, Issue 12, 2016, Pages 2173-2180

The impact of language barriers and immigration status on the care experience for Spanish-speaking caregivers of patients with pediatric cancer (Article)

Zamora E.R.* , Kaul S. , Kirchhoff A.C. , Gwilliam V. , Jimenez O.A. , Morreall D.K. , Montenegro R.E. , Kinney A.Y. , Fluchel M.N.
  • a Utah Department of Health, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
  • b Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, United States
  • c Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
  • d Primary Children's Hospital, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
  • e Colorado School of Public Health, Aurora, CO, United States
  • f Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
  • g Seattle Children's Hospital, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States
  • h University of New Mexico Comprehensive Cancer Center, Albuquerque, NM, United States, Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States
  • i Cancer Control and Population Sciences, Huntsman Cancer Institute, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, United States, Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, United States

Abstract

Background: An increasing proportion of pediatric cancer patients in the United States are Latino and many have Spanish-speaking immigrant parents with limited English proficiency (LEP). Little is known about how language or undocumented immigration status impacts their care experience. Procedure: A cross-sectional survey was administered to English (N = 310) and Spanish-speaking LEP (N = 56) caregivers of pediatric cancer patients. To assess differences in healthcare experiences between the language groups, t-tests and chi-square statistics were used. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated associations between primary language and knowledge of clinical trial status. Results: Spanish-speaking caregivers were more likely to report higher rates of quitting or changing jobs as a direct result of their child's cancer, and their children were more likely to experience a delay in education. Although Spanish-speaking caregivers reported higher satisfaction with care, 32% reported feeling that their child would have received better care if English was their primary language. Spanish-speaking caregivers were more likely to incorrectly identify whether their child was on a clinical trial compared with English-speaking caregivers. The majority of Spanish-speaking caregivers reported at least one undocumented caregiver in the household and 11% of them avoided or delayed medical care for their child due to concerns over their undocumented immigration status. Conclusions: Language barriers and undocumented immigration status may negatively impact the quality of informed decision-making and the care experience for Spanish-speaking LEP caregivers of pediatric cancer patients. These families may benefit from culturally appropriate Spanish language resources to improve communication and open a dialogue regarding undocumented immigration status. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Author Keywords

Latino communication barriers language barriers Decision-making Caregivers

Index Keywords

patient care childhood cancer household cancer patient Caregivers English (language) Communication interpersonal communication Neoplasms human immigration language ability priority journal Clinical Trials as Topic clinical trial (topic) cancer chemotherapy language Spanish (language) Patient Education as Topic Cross-Sectional Studies cross-sectional study Humans Adolescent Infant, Newborn male preschool child female Infant Child, Preschool newborn antineoplastic agent patient satisfaction patient education Article experience health care major clinical study adult migration health care quality Quality of Health Care Emigration and Immigration medical care satisfaction caregiver Child
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-84994495738&doi=10.1002%2fpbc.26150&partnerID=40&md5=df1bd3f4c553bd8a6998b7ec75fef7bc
DOI: 10.1002/pbc.26150
ISSN: 15455009
Cited by: 11
Original Language: English