Retrospective analysis of language-related cultural disparity trends in acute rehabilitation: Implications for health communication

摘要

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine retrospective data to determine if disparities existed in physical therapy outcomes for acute rehabilitation patients. Materials and Methods: Patients from different ethnic/language groups were compared and disparities were measured by comparing Functional Independent Measures? (FIM) scores. Results: Records of three thousand one hundred and ninety-seven patients admitted to a large acute rehabilitation center in the United States over a six year period were analyzed. Of the 23 language groups represented, the largest three language groups, English, Span- ish, and South East (SE) Asian (Hmong, Khmer, Laotian, and Cambodian) languages were analyzed with a total of 2,253 subjects. It was found that the three groups were not significantly different, in terms of their length of stay in the rehabilitation setting (F=2.30, p=.101), age (F=2.52, p=.081), or number of comorbidities (F=2.93, p=.054). However, admis- sion FIM? (F=54.94, p<.001), projected FIM? goal (F=56.67, p<.001) and discharge FIM? (F=44.81, p<.001) were all significantly different, with the non-English speakers scoring lower at all three rating points by therapists. Conclusions: The results of this study demonstrate the importance of the effect of cultur- al and linguistic barriers on health communication interactions. In addition, this study provides insights to international health professionals on the issues of cross-cultural variations in the presentation of language barriers and their impact on potential research outcomes.