Make Spanish-language materials available
Alter teaching to fit culture, multilingual needs
To address the needs of its large Spanish-speaking population (87.8% of patients), Thomason Hospital in El Paso, TX, created a patient education resource committee. The purpose of the bilingual committee was to review and approve patient education materials for use in the hospital with a goal to accumulate a large variety produced in Spanish.
"What the committee found was that a lot of the materials we would like to use for our patients wasn't available in Spanish, or the Spanish wasn't appropriate," says Mary Ann Friesen, MSN, RN, CPHQ, patient education coordinator at Thomason Hospital. Because El Paso is on the Mexican border, its Hispanic population speaks the variant of Spanish spoken in Mexico, as opposed to the textbook Spanish taught in U.S. schools. Therefore, the committee has had to develop materials specific to the hospital's patient population.
Focus groups revealed culture-specific needs
It's important to have materials that meet the educational needs of specific patient populations, agrees Louise Villejo, MPH, CHES, director of patient education at University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. Several years ago M.D. Anderson established a bilingual advisory group to foster Spanish-language activities for the 12% of its patients who are Hispanic.
To determine what was appropriate, the group conducted focus groups with members of the hospital's Hispanic population. As a result, education classes on such topics as chemotherapy were developed and conducted in Spanish. Also, the institution published 175 printed and audiovisual materials in Spanish, and purchased others from such organizations as the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, MD.
Once the group had completed the needs assessment and looked at what was available to meet the needs of M.D. Anderson's Hispanic population and what resources were needed, it disbanded. The work of meeting the needs of Hispanic patients continues, however. "When we begin developing a patient education program, we include the cost of Spanish-language translations," says Villejo. The learning center developed a list of Spanish-language books, videos, and Internet sites for patients.
Education methods, like materials, also must be tailored to the needs of the patient population, says Friesen. For example, one outreach program at Thomason teaches participants how to prepare heart-healthy meals using foods commonly eaten along the border. "There is no point in trying to teach people to cook something that is totally foreign to their culture," she explains.
The hospital has had to alter many of its practices to better service its large Hispanic population, says Patricia Ramirez Moreno, CHES, education supervisor for Family Planning Services at Thomason Hospital. For example, patients do better with family support, and when illness strikes, extended family members arrive at the hospital. To help patients in the ICU get well, the hospital revised its visiting policy. Families work with the nurse caring for the patient to create visiting hours that suit both the patient and extended family.
It is this flexibility that is important when serving patients of diverse cultures. "We have to be open to the continuum of life and aware of the cultural influences through the life process. If dealing with the birthing process, we need to be sensitive to the cultural aspects of birth. If someone is dying, we need to be sensitive to the aspects of death and dying for that culture," says Friesen.
For more information, contact the following:
Mary Ann Friesen, MSN, RN, CPHQ, Patient Education Coordinator, Thomason Hospital, 4815 Alameda Ave., El Paso, TX 79905. Telephone: (915) 521-7273. Fax: (915) 521-7931.
Patricia Ramirez Moreno, CHES, Education Supervisor, Family Planning Services, Thomason Hospital, 4815 Alameda Ave., El Paso, TX 79905. Telephone: (915) 532-5454. Fax: (915) 521-7980.
Louise Villejo, MPH, CHES, Director of Patient Education, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, 1515 Holcombe-Box 21, Houston, TX 77030. Telephone: (713) 792-7128. Fax: (713) 794-5379. E-mail: [email protected]
You have reached your article limit for the month. Subscribe now to access this article plus other member-only content.
- Award-winning Medical Content
- Latest Advances & Development in Medicine
- Unbiased Content