Introduction
One specific health literacy issue currently faced by Hospital X is linguistic minority patients’ limited use of safe and effective resources to comprehend all medication instructions accurately. The issue pertains to certain patients’ failure to obtain/utilize instructions in their language despite the facility’s ability to provide such accommodations. Literacy in accessing medication information in different languages must be promoted among the facility’s Spanish-speaking patients via a new patient education tool. Based on the CLAS standards, medication literacy education will help patients understand complex information by ensuring linguistic minorities’ access to materials/reminders in their language.
How Patient Education Resolves the Medication Literacy Issue and Alignment with CLAS
Patient education can support Hospital X in resolving the stated issue by improving minority clients’ perceptions and awareness of literacy in utilizing the facility’s instructions regarding the prescribed medications. The education will caution the involved population against implementing medication instructions they do not fully comprehend. This client teaching solution falls in line with several CLAS standards, including some covering language assistance in patient instructions. It meets Standard 1 by ensuring the presence of services “responsive to preferred languages and health literacy” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health [USDHHS OMH], n.d., para. 2). Furthermore, the solution is aligned with Standard 6 as the education involves addressing knowledge gaps peculiar to “the availability of language services” (USDHHS OMH, n.d., para. 3). Finally, planned patient education meets Standard 8 as easy-to-comprehend materials in different languages will be offered to clients (USDHHS OMH, n.d.). Following these standards, Hospital X will introduce clients to options for receiving instructions in their native language, thus eliminating barriers to literacy.
Along with the standards above, the issue will be resolved by developing an educational handout/reminder for patients in English/Spanish to cover three themes. First, the tool will highlight that comprehending medication instructions in their entirety is crucial prior to discharge to avoid harm from adverse drug interactions or dosage inaccuracies (Mustafa et al., 2023). Second, it will explain that patients struggling with understanding instructions in English should ask the facility to reiterate the provided guidelines in their native language and request a copy of medication instructions in their language. Third, it will state that struggling English speakers that lose or fail to obtain translated instructions should contact the facility again instead of translating drug information with unprofessional tools. Accessible translation services can produce misleading information; for example, Google Translate has been shown to translate drug information into Spanish without semantic distortions only in 70% of cases (Cornelison et al., 2021). The tool will supplement regular patient education events with linguistic minority clients, and providers will align the process of instruction to patients’ responses and invite interpreters if needed.
Project Details: Timeline, Costs, and Responsibilities
The solution will involve four aspects or phases, and each will be completed by responsible individuals. In step one, the hospital’s patient education coordinator will establish the project team and draft the educational reminder by March 2023. Next, by April 2023, two bilingual nurses speaking the target language will translate the reminder into Spanish and verify its clarity with volunteer patients from the relevant group. By May 2023, the coordinator will finalize the handout, distribute files for printing among care providers, and instruct providers on using it. By June 2023, all providers will start implementing the tool into regular patient education. Tool development and provider instruction should take no more than thirty hours of the responsible parties’ work. Based on time estimates and the involved professionals’ hourly rates, the project will total around $1,020 in costs.
Conclusion
Finally, in line with the CLAS standards, introducing easy-to-understand materials for minority patient education will assist Hospital X in preventing misconceptions regarding medication regimens among linguistic minorities. Thanks to the reminder and corresponding education, the facility will introduce various populations to the health literacy concept and how language barriers might distort their perceptions of providers’ directions. The solution can be anticipated to maintain optimal medication adherence among all linguistic groups.
References
Cornelison, B. R., Al-Mohaish, S., Sun, Y., & Edwards, C. J. (2021). Accuracy of Google Translate in translating the directions and counseling points for top-selling drugs from English to Arabic, Chinese, and Spanish. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 78(22), 2053-2058. Web.
Mustafa, R., Mahboob, U., Khan, R. A., & Anjum, A. (2023). Impact of language barriers in doctor-patient relationship: A qualitative study. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences, 39(1), 41-45. Web.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Minority Health. (n.d.). National CLAS standards. Web.