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. 2016 Aug 12:3:2333393616637764.
doi: 10.1177/2333393616637764. Epub 2016 Mar 22.

Perspectives of Nurses on Patients With Limited English Proficiency and Their Call Light Use

Jose Galinato  1 , Mary Montie  1 , Clayton Shuman  1 , Lance Patak  2 , Marita Titler  1
Affiliations

Perspectives of Nurses on Patients With Limited English Proficiency and Their Call Light Use

Jose Galinato et al. Glob Qual Nurs Res. .

Abstract

Patients use call light systems to initiate communication with their health care team. Little is known how this process is affected when language barriers exist between an English-speaking nurse and a patient with limited English proficiency (LEP). The aims of this study are to describe (a) the perceptions of nurses regarding their communication with patients with LEP, (b) how call lights affect their communication with patients with LEP, and (c) the perceptions of nurses on the impact of advancement in call light technology on patients with LEP. Using focus groups, nurses were asked about their interactions with patients with LEP. The following themes emerged: barriers to communication, formal tools for communication, gestures and charades, reliance on family, creating a better call light system, and acceptability of Eloquence™. This results show that call lights affect the interaction of nurses with patients with LEP and complex issues arise in the subsequent communication that is initiated by the call light.

Keywords: call light technology; limited English proficiency; patient–nurse communication.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests The authors declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Dr. Patak is a cofounder of the company that received National Institutes of Health funding support for this study. Dr. Patak is also an equity stakeholder in the company (G40%). His role in the study was as a consultant to the research team. In order to avoid bias, he did not performany data collection, nor did he performany data analysis. He did, however, make a significant contribution to the manuscript in consideration.

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