Abstract Body: Introduction: Research shows that ischemic stroke patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) experience disparities in stroke care, including increased time to treatment with intravenous thrombolysis. During code strokes, translation devices are necessary to evaluate stroke patients with LEP, but the devices may not be readily available or may have poor reliability (e.g., poor connection, poor audio quality). This study aims to systematically evaluate the challenges that clinicians, nurses, and other healthcare professionals encounter when assessing stroke patients with LEP.
Methods: A survey was distributed to clinicians, nurses, and other healthcare personnel who provided care to stroke patients over a six-month period. We collected information regarding role (e.g., physician, nurse), availability of translation devices, and reliability of translation devices in this survey. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data.
Results: Of the clinician respondents, 71% (12/17) reported inaccessibility to translation devices during code strokes. Additionally, 65% (11/17) experienced technical difficulties with translation devices during code strokes. Furthermore, 76% (13/17) of clinicians believed that inadequate or unreliable translation services have compromised their ability to manage code strokes for LEP patients. A significant majority of overall respondents, 88% (28/32) expressed interest in a mobile application to aid in evaluating stroke patients with LEP and 81% (26/32) showed interest in learning how to perform the NIH Stroke Scale in another language.
Conclusion: Despite the availability of translation services, issues with reliability and accessibility hinder the quality of care for stroke patients with LEP, highlighting the need for systemic improvements. Many clinicians call for improved services and technology, which our group will focus on developing.