Introduction
The healthcare system is one of the essential aspects for the functioning of the country, which, among other things, demonstrates the level of economic development. It is due to the fact that the healthcare sector directly or indirectly affects all other spheres of the life of the state. Primarily, it is explained by the impact on the level of health and well-being of the population, and hence the labor force, which forms the resources for the existence of industry and other important aspects. However, there are many challenges and problems associated with the effectiveness of the healthcare system. Among these, the barriers to the provision of healthcare services for refugees, immigrants, and tourists stand out in particular.
Primarily, these factors are formulated by the linguistic barrier, thus, the lack of a system for interpreting all the necessary information for foreigners. Therefore, the proposed study will analyze whether there are any policies, laws, or regulations regarding the language barrier at medical appointments. Moreover, the paper will consider the consequences to which this problem leads and potentially can lead. Further, options will be proposed to improve the situation and optimize the work of this sector based on the existing variants for solving the problem. To do this, a cross-sectional study will be used to indicate the extent of the problem in the selected target population. The target population includes refugees from Afghanistan, and the problem is the difficulty in obtaining adequate medical services. Besides, among the additional covariants to consider will be health insurance status, income, and age.
Problem Statement
The foundation of the problem lies in the lack of adequate infrastructure in the places where medical services are provided to interpret information for foreigners. First of all, it implies the lack of systems for translating information into the language of the client’s country (Gigger & Haddad, 2020). This paper considers targeting populations from Afghanistan, that is, languages such as Pashto, Dari, Uzbek, Balochi, and Turkmen. Populations in the US who are native speakers of these languages face a barrier to accessing adequate healthcare services. One does not have the opportunity to navigate among the large amount of information in English related to healthcare procedures (Koehn, 2018). This information includes instructions, banners, electronic information, stands, procedures, treatment, prevention, and other important factors.
Communication is the key method under which healthcare services may be provided and through which one can talk about a problem. Intercourse allows doctors not only to get information about the problem but also to provide the necessary verbal instructions to clients (Hauck & Brown, 2021). However, the language barrier makes the communication process difficult at best, and in some cases, the exchange of information between doctor and client becomes impossible (Martinez & Train, 2018). In addition, with the help of communication, the doctor instructs the patient about the features of carrying out certain procedures and about safety. Thus, the language barrier is a major problem that can lead to serious consequences.
The language barrier articulates the foundation of the problem, however, there is also a background issue related to the barrier to health care for Afghan refugees. It involves the cultural aspect, namely, the traditions and rules inherent in people from other countries. The issue lies in the differences in treatments, procedures, medications, communication methods, and mentalities (Inungu & Minelli, 2021). When two different cultures collide, there can be difficulties in understanding, however, rapport is a crucial aspect in the field of healthcare. For example, some rules of life common among Afghan immigrants may conflict with the treatment, communication, or procedures common in the United States (Rosano, 2018). In addition, it is necessary to take into account the religious aspect, which affects the possibility of using certain drugs.
Innovation
As already indicated, the problem of the language barrier in healthcare is urgent due to severe consequences for the patient. In addition, nowadays, there is a need to develop proposals for possible methods for solving this problem. It formulates the innovation of this work, its relevance, and the possibility of using it as a foundation for a further solution to the problem of the language barrier in healthcare. For this, it is necessary to analyze the existing laws and regulations related to the issue. The central thesis connected with this problem is the fact that, according to Title 3 of the Disabilities Act, the doctor is obliged to provide an interpreter for the patient (ADA.gov, 2022). In other words, if the patient cannot adequately understand and accept the doctor’s instructions due to the language barrier, the institution is required to provide the solution.
Further, the innovation of this work lies in the relevance of the proposed options for solving the problem. These variants can be used as a model for resolving the issue or as a foundation for developing further strategies. Thus, the first solution will be to create a permanent position for the translator in the institutions of the provision of medical services. As a rule, in certain regions, the most typical representatives of foreign cultures are refugees from certain countries. That is, it is necessary to conduct a study to identify the most common languages in hospitals. Further, depending on the results, hire two or three translators who will be able to provide interpretation services where necessary quickly.
Alternatives to this solution could be formulated by the creation of a special team of translators or the optimization of the process of providing medical services in the country. The first option includes the formation of groups of translators who will operate throughout the city. That is, if the services of an interpreter are needed, the medical institution applies to the group, and a translator of the required languages leaves for the facility.
Another alternative, namely the optimization of the processes of providing medical services in the country, is large-scale and will require large financial investments. It includes adding technology to all offices and reception areas that will provide instant consecutive translation for the client and the doctor through headphones. One needs to select the required languages on the control panel, and the system will translate the information. Such features are already offered by some technology organizations, however, installing them throughout the country’s hospitals will require a significant investment. In addition, similar gadgets for text translation will be needed. However, such a large-scale reformatting would eliminate the need for all other actions and solve the problem.
Research Questions and Aims
Primarily, the objectives of the work are to identify research questions for effectively structuring the study of the issue. Moreover, the subsequent goals of the paper are to determine answers to the research questions identified. Thus, it is necessary to develop a solution and identify answers to the following questions, which are related to the general topic of the paper and the designated problem:
- How does the language barrier for the Afghanistan refugee communities influence the healthcare system as a whole?
- Which impact does the language barrier exert on the Afghanistan refugees and immigrants?
- How can the healthcare issue of the language barrier be settled?
- What would be the long-term consequences if the problem wouldwould not resolved?
Theory or Conceptual Model
For effective visualization of the problem, the most appropriate theory that formulates a conceptual model is the Health Belief concept. It includes highlighting the significant aspects of the issue and identifying the relationships between them (Taylor et al., 2020). This approach will help one to rationally assess the theoretical background of the chosen problem and determine ways to influence the connections. Moreover, this model is more efficient and comfortable for visual perception, which contributes to the effective development of solution methods. In addition, the Health Belief Model indicates the use of relevant sources, which is vital in terms of scientific work.
Therefore, this model includes several essential aspects related to the problem. First, it identifies the demographic and socioeconomic factors of the target population. Further, the model includes susceptibility, severity, benefits, and barriers related to target populations and the issue. All this articulates cues to action, which, along with the above factors, determines the procedures necessary to produce (Sharma, 2021). In other words, the Health Belief model defines not only the components of the problem and the links between them but also forms the necessary procedures.
Table 1: the Health Belief Model considering the chosen topic
Significance of the Study
The significance of this study includes several aspects that formulate the relevance, effectiveness, and importance of the procedures proposed in work. It is worth noting that any proposed methods are valuable as they can become the basis for solving the problem. In turn, it is connected with the fact that the healthcare sector is one of the most important in the life of the country (Jang, 2018). Moreover, the healthcare sector affects other areas of the state, which articulates the urgency of the study not only for healthcare. The effectiveness of the proposed procedures lies in their simple implementation and efficiency for solving the problem, given the Health Belief Model, the links of which lead to the implementation of the solution.
However, one of the proposed procedures, namely the large-scale optimization of hospitals across the country, is not simple. At the same time, its effectiveness is higher than the others’ since it completely eliminates the problem of the language barrier. Finally, the importance of the study is articulated by the part of the Health Belief Model, namely the cue for action. It includes the dissatisfaction of some segments of the population with the health care system. Potentially, it can significantly worsen the sentiment of the people as no efforts are made to solve the problem, thus, it frames the importance and necessity of this study as well.
References
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Rosano, A. (2018). Access to primary care and preventative health services of migrants. Springer.
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