Bilingual Dual-Role Staff Interpreters in the Health Care Setting: Factors Associated With Passing a Language Competency Test

Although using trained interpreters can improve care for patients with limited English proficiency, using untrained interpreters may impair it. Without a valid language skills test for interpreters, it is difficult for health care organizations to identify bilingual staff who can serve in a dual role as interpreters. We hypothesized that individuals born outside the U.S. with a higher education level and prior interpreting training and reporting high confidence in interpreting abilities would be more likely to pass a test to function as a dual-role interpreter. We surveyed and tested 387 dual-role interpreters in a large, integrated health care organization. There was a positive association between the above factors and passing the test. Studies like these may help health care organizations to better screen dual-role interpreters. Until standards for interpreters are developed, anyone asked to function as an interpreter in a health care setting, including dual-role interpreters, should undergo testing

Effects of Parenting on Marital Quality: A Causal Analysis

A theoretical model of eleven antecedents of marital quality (education, family life cycle, sex, work status, sex role attitude, social network, role accumulation, role conflict, parental competence, parental strain, and marital strain) was developed and tested using Path Analysis. Subjects were 119 married couples (238 individuals) who had at least one child. They completed the Parental and Marital Interaction Questionnaire which had measures for each of the antecedent variables

Measuring patient satisfaction with breast cancer diagnostic services in low-income women over 40

Presented at: The 128th Annual Meeting of APH

Timely follow-up among multicultural women with abnormal mammograms

Objective: To examine factors influencing time from screening to final diagnosis among multicultural women with abnormal mammograms using the precede-proceed model. Methods: Staff of 58 clinics and a sample of 436 women served by these clinics were interviewed and their medical records examined. Results: Longer duration from screening to diagnosis was associated with speaking Spanish and having clinic staff make appointments. Ease of access to health care, provision of early morning screening services and higher levels of patient anxiety shortened the time to diagnosis. Conclusion: The precede-proceed model is useful in delineating personal and structural factors that affect timely diagnosis