Abstract

HICKEY, Cheryl J  and  PINZON-PEREZ, Helda. Retrospective analysis of language-related cultural disparity trends in acute rehabilitation: Implications for health communication. Salud, Barranquilla [online]. 2013, vol.29, n.2, pp.201-213. ISSN 0120-5552.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine retrospective data to determine if disparities existed in physical therapy outcomes for acute rehabilitation patients. Materials and Methods: Patients from different ethnic/language groups were compared and disparities were measured by comparing Functional Independent Measures® (FIM) scores. Results: Records of three thousand one hundred and ninety-seven patients admitted to a large acute rehabilitation center in the United States over a six year period were analyzed. Of the 23 language groups represented, the largest three language groups, English, Spanish, and South East (SE) Asian (Hmong, Khmer, Laotian, and Cambodian) languages were analyzed with a total of2,253 subjects. It was found that the three groups were not significantly different, in terms of their length of stay in the rehabilitation setting (F=2.30, p=.101), age (F=2.52, p=.081), or number of comorbidities (F=2.93, p=.054). However, admission FIM® (F=54.94, p<.001), projected FIM® goal (F=56.67, p<.001) and discharge FIM® (F=44.81, p<.001) were all significantly different, with the non-English speakers scoring lower at all three rating points by therapists. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate the importance of the effect of cultural and linguistic barriers on health communication interactions. In addition, this study provides insights to international health professionals on the issues of cross-cultural variations in the presentation of language barriers and their impact on potential research outcomes.

Keywords : Language barriers; physical therapy; health communication.

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