Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May;61(5):e13-e16.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.01.140. Epub 2021 Feb 6.

Healthcare Disparities and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Primary Language and Translations of Visitor Policies at NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers

Natasha Dhawan  1 , Ishwaria M Subbiah  2 , Jonathan C Yeh  3 , Benjamin Thompson  4 , Zachary Hildner  5 , Areeba Jawed  6 , Eric Prommer  7 , Christian Sinclair  5
Affiliations

Healthcare Disparities and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Primary Language and Translations of Visitor Policies at NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers

Natasha Dhawan et al. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 May.

Abstract

Context: Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has caused unprecedented disruptions to cancer care, including through strict hospital visitation policies. Since a substantial proportion of the U.S. population report a non-English language as their primary language, it is critical that information is disseminated in multiple languages.

Objectives: To examine the availability of language translations of visitation restrictions on adult National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers (CCCs) Web sites.

Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of visitation policies abstracted from public-facing Web sites of CCCs in June 2020. Using U.S. Census data, CCC's city and state proportions of self-identifying Hispanic/Latinx population were categorized into three cohorts: low (<10%), moderate (10%-20%), and high (>20%).

Results: As of June 2020, all 50 CCCs published a COVID-19 visitation policy on their Web site. Of these, 33 (66%) posted policies only in English, whereas 17 (34%) included one or more non-English translations. A minority of CCCs published Spanish language resources, which did not differ based on state or city demographics: for example, only 42% (8 of 19), 10% (1 of 10), and 38% (8 of 21) of CCCs published Spanish language resources in cities with low, moderate, and high Hispanic/Latinx populations, respectively.

Conclusion: `Most CCC's did not publish non-English language translations of their visitor policies. Even in cities and states with larger Hispanic/Latinx populations, most CCCs did not publish resources in Spanish. This study highlights a key opportunity to mitigate communication barriers and deliver culturally competent, patient-centered care.

Keywords: COVID-19; Health disparities; cancer care delivery; cultural competence; languages; translation; visitor policies.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig 1
Fig. 1
Proportions of primary language and translations of visitor policies at NCI-designated comprehensive cancer centers.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. U.S. Census Bureau . 2019. Quick facts—population estimates, July 1, 2019, (V2019)https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045219 Available at: Accessed October 2, 2020.
    1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . 2020. Demographic trends of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the US reported to CDC.https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#demographics Available at: Accessed October 2, 2020.
    1. U.S. Census Bureau . 2019. Languages spoken at home by ability to speak English for the population 5 years and over.https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=language&tid=ACSDT1Y2019.B16001&h... Available at: Accessed October 2, 2020.
    1. U.S. Census Bureau . 2019. Nativity by language spoken at home by ability to speak English for the population 5 years and over (Black of African American alone)https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?q=black%20language&d=ACS%201-Year%2... Available at: Accessed October 2, 2020.
    1. Timmins CL. The impact of language barriers on the health care of Latinos in the United States: a review of the literature and guidelines for practice. J Midwifery Womens Health. 2002;47:80–96. - PubMed