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J Pain Symptom Manage · May 2021
Healthcare Disparities and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Analysis of Primary Language and Translations of Visitor Policies at NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers.
- Natasha Dhawan, Ishwaria M Subbiah, Jonathan C Yeh, Benjamin Thompson, Zachary Hildner, Areeba Jawed, Eric Prommer, and Christian Sinclair.
- Department of Hematology and Oncology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA.
- J Pain Symptom Manage. 2021 May 1; 61 (5): e13-e16.
ContextCoronavirus 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.ObjectivesTo examine the availability of language translations of visitation restrictions on adult National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer centers (CCCs) Web sites.MethodsCross-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%).ResultsAs 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.Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.
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