Characterizing injury patterns and outcomes in hospitalized trauma patients with non-English Language Preferences

Abstract

Introduction: Patients with Non-English Language Preferences (NELP) experience challenges navigating the US healthcare system which can lead to disparate outcomes. This study sought to investigate injury patterns and outcomes in hospitalized trauma patients with NELP.

Methods: A retrospective review was performed at a trauma center from January 2019-December 2020. An institutional database of all emergency department video consultations for interpreter services was cross-referenced with the trauma registry and comparisons were made between NELP and English-preferred (EP) speaking patients.

Results: During the study, 257 NELP patients were hospitalized after traumatic injury. Twenty-two percent had work related injuries compared to only 3.0% in the EP cohort (p < 0.001). When propensity score matched, there were no significant differences in ICU and hospital length of stay or mortality between NELP and EP patients.

Discussion: Trauma patients are linguistically diverse and understanding their injury patterns and outcomes is crucial for guiding culturally and linguistically appropriate injury prevention.