TY - JOUR
T1 - Healthcare Disparities and the COVID-19 Pandemic
T2 - Analysis of Primary Language and Translations of Visitor Policies at NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers
AU - Dhawan, Natasha
AU - Subbiah, Ishwaria M.
AU - Yeh, Jonathan C.
AU - Thompson, Benjamin
AU - Hildner, Zachary
AU - Jawed, Areeba
AU - Prommer, Eric
AU - Sinclair, Christian
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021
PY - 2021/5
Y1 - 2021/5
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - COVID-19
KW - Health disparities
KW - cancer care delivery
KW - cultural competence
KW - languages
KW - translation
KW - visitor policies
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U2 - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.01.140
DO - 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2021.01.140
M3 - Article
C2 - 33561493
AN - SCOPUS:85102462344
SN - 0885-3924
VL - 61
SP - e13-e16
JO - Journal of pain and symptom management
JF - Journal of pain and symptom management
IS - 5
ER -