Standardizing translation services for home visiting staff to improve health equity among Latinx clients served by Gallatin city-county health department

Abstract

On a national level, the Latinx population has grown by 43%, amounting to 57 million people as of 2020. On a local level, Montana is now home to 34,000 Spanish-speaking people, and the population is growing every year. Montana has seen an impact with the influx of Spanish Spanish-speaking populations in healthcare settings, and patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) are at a disadvantage to translation services, particularly in rural and frontier communities. Recently, the Gallatin City-County Health Department has experienced an influx in Latinx persons needing maternal child health home visiting services. Yet, with current translators in place, there is still a need for improved language access in care for waitlisted Spanish Spanish-speaking families. The goal of this quality improvement project is to implement a standardized interpretation process for Spanish Spanish-speaking families in need of maternal child health home visiting services. Technologies assessed include Time Kettle Translation Technology and the Language Link Live Translator Technology delivered on an iPad. A PDSA model for implementation was used, and multiple cycles for improvement were assessed. Results showed patient satisfaction and confidence level of 100% using Language Link Video Interpretation in contrast confidence and satisfaction level of 50% with Time Kettle eEar pPods. All patients were satisfied with the point of care they received with from the nurse or social worker based off on post -satisfaction survey results. Staff satisfaction and confidence level decreased with Time Kettle Ear Pods when used in the field as this could be related to reading from a script in comparison to a more natural conversation. Recommendations include improving staff support and education to adequality serve this population and continued assessment of the staff self-readiness to implement translation technology independently. Lastly, each staff member will have to determine whether technology is right for current needs and, if so, how to create a solution that pairs the best of technology with human capabilities.