References
Language barrier and its implications for practice in Kuwait prehospital settings
Abstract
Objectives:
The purpose of this research was to explore the implications of language barrier among emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics in a prehospital setting in Kuwait.
Methods:
A small-scale exploratory case study was carried out using a qualitative method. Focus group interviews were conducted with prehospital providers in Kuwait. An inductive thematic analysis was performed whereby themes and sub-themes emerged from within the data.
Results:
The data revealed that language barrier has a direct effect on healthcare delivery with implications for an unpleasant patient experience, time delay and misdiagnosis; professional implications which include the need to enhance learning through communication and training to improve practice and support with translation; and personal implications including declining efficiency level, negative socio-emotional impact and physiologic response.
Conclusion:
This study contributes to the scarcity of available research determining the effects and implications of language barrier for EMTs and paramedics in a prehospital setting in Kuwait. It brings the deficiencies of the Kuwait emergency medical services (EMS) to light, as language disparities affect prehospital providers and their quality of work. Strategies for overcoming the language barrier, implemented by the respondents in this study, form a basis for the Kuwait EMS to address unexplored issues that could potentially improve prehospital practice. While the findings may not be generalisable, they may be transferable to other areas of practice with comparable situations where healthcare providers face challenges when communicating with their patients.
Effective communication is important in healthcare given that health professionals deal directly with patients (Divi et al, 2007; Houle 2010). Patient care is compromised when healthcare providers face direct communication failures with patients because of language discord (Schyve, 2007).
Kuwait is home to approximately 2 million expatriates, making up 70% of its population. This includes Arab and Asian expatriates: Arabs (Egyptian, Lebanese, Syrian, Jordanian, Iraqi, Yemeni); South Asians (Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Nepali and Sri Lankan); and others (Filipino, Ethiopian, Indonesian, American, Iranian and Europeans) (Central Intelligence Agency, 2019). The rapid migration of multicultural people into the State of Kuwait could lead to communication difficulties for many migrants who do not share a common language.
The emergency medical services (EMS) of Kuwait, within the State's national ambulance service, employs diverse nationalities who work in the paramedical field. These include Arabs and Asians from a variety of backgrounds in education, culture and language. The English language is widely spoken; however it is the second language after Arabic. These challenges therefore have an impact on patients as well as prehospital care providers, namely the emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics. These issues are crucial in the prehospital setting where the delivery of care is time-limited, especially in emergency situations and where communication is a matter of life or death, or safety versus risk (Pyke, 2010).
Subscribe to get full access to International Paramedic Practice
Thank you for visiting International Paramedic Practice and reading our archive of expert clinical content. If you would like to read more from the only journal dedicated to those working in emergency care, you can start your subscription today for just £48.
What's included
-
CPD Focus
-
Develop your career
-
Stay informed