Language – Culture – Barriers

The California landscape is a beautiful scene of mountain ranges and rolling hills but not everyone can afford a million-dollar view.

Our healthcare can be seen in this same way; a way we see varying levels of accessibility and the outcomes of cancer survivability. I’m here to highlight the metaphorical Donner Pass for one particular group that is disproportionately and consistently at a disadvantage, it’s those who are Limited English Proficient (LEP).

There are risks involved with language barriers in one’s road to cancer recovery; a plight that is extended to those who are deaf and hard-of-hearing. We’re talking about at least 35 million people in the United States with a road to recovery compromised because of inadequate transference of information about how to best handle their outpatient treatment. The use of interpretive services is legally required but faces several instances of underperformance. Firstly, there is an issue determining who will be in need of language assistance prior to coming in, and secondly, the quality of assistance is dependent on the knowledge and initiative of individual healthcare providers. Of the two largest categories of participants, nurses and physicians expressed dissatisfaction with the utilization of interpretive services.

We are here to connect many of these people we love with you and the purpose of the NeuVisium Foundation, a non-profit born to share the road of cancer survivability. Now share with us and the survivor/founder Kuldip’s mission to help others navigate treatment and recovery at home. In this rugged terrain of healthcare equity, we won’t rely upon divine intervention but rather, Grace and collective determination. We are all not so detached from this experience and so I suggest, if you can be anything for those you love, be a trailblazer.

Additional References:

Kale E, Syed HR. Language barriers and the use of interpreters in the public health services. A questionnaire-based survey. Patient Educ Couns. 2010 Nov;81(2):187-91. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2010.05.002. Epub 2010 Jun 9. PMID: 20542656.

Mitchell RE. How many deaf people are there in the United States? Estimates from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. J Deaf Stud Deaf Educ. 2006 Winter;11(1):112-9. doi: 10.1093/deafed/enj004. Epub 2005 Sep 21. PMID: 16177267.

Health Research and Education Trust (2006)