Working with Interpreters
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Currently about 16% of the US population aged 65 or older belongs to ethnic minority groups.
The fastest growth will be in elderly Hispanics who will increase by 322%1. The number of elderly Asians in USA is expected to increase by over 300%.
By 2030, 25% of elderly Americans will be of minority status. -
The proportion of Hispanic elderly who speak little or no English varies from around 32% of Mexican-Americans to 63% of those from Cuba.
Those who speak only Spanish may be very linguistically isolated – nearly half of elders who speak only Spanish live in households where no adult speaks English well2. In Kansas, one third of Hispanics report speaking only Spanish at home. -
The term “Hispanic”(or “Latino”) in the United States covers at least 17 different groups.
Most speak a form of Spanish but for some the first language may be Mayan or a regional dialect quite removed from classical Spanish. Further, even in Spanish speakers, the meaning and medical implications of a word may vary across groups e.g. “fatiga” can be used to describe being tired (Central America) or breathless (Puerto Rico). -
Federal funding for health care requires providers to deliver “equitable and efficient treatment in a culturally and linguistically appropriate manner”.
Medicare allows bilingual services (such as translators, provision of materials in appropriate languages, and recruitment of bilingual employees) to be allowable provider costs. Regulators are increasingly requiring that all health services provide interpreting services. Cultural and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards and regulations are becoming increasingly important in practice.
Caring for elders who do not speak English will become increasingly common in all health care. Working with interpreters (“triadic interviewing”) is a necessary skill for physicians.
