Article

PURPOSE: To determine whether English proficiency and/or the frequency of
interpreter use impacts on health outcomes for inpatient stroke rehabilitation.
STUDY DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study. PARTICIPANTS: People
admitted for inpatient stroke rehabilitation. A high English proficiency group
comprised people with native or near native English proficiency
(n = 80), and a
low English proficiency group comprised people who preferred a language other
than English (n = 80). OUTCOME MEASURES:
Length of stay (LOS), discharge
destination and Functional Independence Measure (FIM). RESULTS: The low English
proficiency group showed a greater improvement in FIM from admission to discharge
(p = 0.04). No significant differences were found between groups in LOS,
discharge destination and number of encounters with allied health professionals.
Increased interpreter usage improved FIM efficiency but did not significantly
alter other outcomes. CONCLUSION: English proficiency does not appear to impact
on health outcomes in inpatient rehabilitation with a primarily in-house
professional interpreter service. However, there is a need for a larger powered
study to confirm these findings. Implications for rehabilitation People with low
English proficiency undergoing inpatient stroke rehabilitation in a setting with
a primarily in-house professional interpreter service, achieved similar outcomes
to those with high English proficiency irrespective of frequency of interpreter
usage. A non-significant increase of 4 days length of stay was observed in the
low English proficiency group compared to the high English proficiency group. For
patients with low English proficiency, greater change in Functional Independence
Measure efficiency scores was observed for those with higher levels of
interpreter use relative to those with low interpreter use. Clinicians should
optimise use of interpreters with patients with low English proficiency when
possible.

Langue : ANGLAIS