This Diabetes Awareness Month, researchers urge greater awareness of interpreter services to improve health outcomes
Diabetes is a complex condition that affects millions of Canadians and requires frequent communication between patients and health-care providers to manage blood sugars, blood pressure and complications such as heart disease and infection.
Research led by Dr. Michael Reaume, a nephrologist and postdoctoral fellow in the University of Manitoba's Max Rady College of Medicine, wanted to know what happens when people living with diabetes — do or do not — receive care in the language they most commonly speak at home.
The study, published in Diabetes, Obesity and Cardiometabolic CARE, examined the association between patient-physician language concordance and hospitalizations for diabetes-related complications, including cardiovascular events, glycemic emergencies (high or low blood sugars) and infections. Language concordance refers to patients receiving care in the same language they speak at home.
“We found that patients who primarily speak a language other than English or French had a 39 per cent lower risk of hospitalization for diabetes-related complications when they received care from a physician who spoke the language that they most commonly speak at home,” Reaume said.
The study identified people living with diabetes using Statistics Canada survey data from 33,965 respondents across Canada. Of those respondents, 1,680 spoke a language other than English or French. Participants were asked what language they speak at home and, if they had a family doctor, what language they speak with that doctor.
“We compared people living with diabetes who were receiving care in the language they speak at home to people living with diabetes who spoke the same languages but were not receiving care in that language.”
The study found that people living with diabetes receiving care in their preferred language had a significantly lower risk of diabetes-related complications over a follow-up period extending up to 10 years.
“Even after controlling for differences such as age, sex, employment, income, immigration status, knowledge of English and French and chronic conditions, we found that the association between patient-physician language concordance and fewer hospitalizations for diabetes-related complications remained significant,” Reaume said. “The difference was due to fewer hospitalizations for heart disease among patients receiving language-concordant care.”
The researchers aim to help more patients receive care in their preferred language and reduce the barriers associated with language-discordant care.
“It's impossible for physicians to provide every patient with care in their language. That's where professional interpreter services become so important,” Reaume said. “While language is only one of many factors that can influence health outcomes, ensuring patients can communicate effectively with their health-care providers is an important part of delivering equitable, high-quality care”.
In Manitoba, professional interpretation services in more than 200 languages are available through Shared Health Language Access. Interpreters can provide support in person or remotely.
Allana Carlyle, provincial language access lead with Shared Health Language Access, said the program is not simply a communication service. It is also an essential component of safe, person-centred health care. “This research highlights the critical role communication plays in patient safety and health outcomes,” Carlyle said. “While language-concordant providers are not always available, Shared Health Language Access provides 24/7 access to trained, professional interpreters supporting safe, accessible and equitable communication between patients, families and providers across Manitoba.”
Reaume highlights opportunities to improve patient care:
For policymakers: Including a person's preferred language on their health card could help improve patient-physician language matching, and access to professional interpretation services. Manitoba health cards identify English and French-language preference, but do not capture any language information beyond English or French.
For health-care providers: Patients with a preferred language other than English should be offered a professional interpreter using Shared Health Language Access.
Michael Reaume's interview availability: Thursday except between 2:30PM and 4:30PM. He is also available for interviews on Friday afternoon.
For more information on Shared Health Language Access, visit: sharedhealthmb.ca/patient-care/language-access
Media contact:
Danica Hidalgo Cherewyk
Senior Communications Officer
Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba
E: Danica.HidalgoCherewyk@umanitoba.ca P: 204 -789-3222
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