Arabic Language Prompts to Facilitate Triage

Dr. Lasith Ranasinghe, Dr. Zaid Alsafi, Dr. Aruni Mathyalakan

Background

Language barriers in healthcare result in miscommunication between medicalprofessionals and patients. This can affect patient satisfaction and quality of care. This is particularly important in the emergency department triage setting, where the initial assessment determines the urgency with which the patient will be managed.

Objectives

To assess the impact of an Arabic triage sheet on the perceived efficiency of the triage process.

Methods

Questionnaires were sent totriage staff and Arabic-speaking members of staff to gauge the effectiveness of current methods used to triage Arabic-speaking patients, and the disruptions to clinical practice and training caused by the pressure placed on Arabic-speaking members of staff to interpret on an ad hoc basis. An Arabic triage sheet containing pictorial depictions of common clinical presentations with the terms written in English and Arabic was then designed and made available in all A&E triage rooms at St. Mary’s Hospital. Afterastudy periodof 2 weeks,surveys were issuedto triage staff to qualitatively assess theimpact of the intervention on thetriage process.

Results

87.5% of triage staff saidthey encounter an exclusively Arabicspeaking patient 2-4 times per shift, with 12.5% reporting 5-7 times per shift. 87.5% agreed that triaging Arabic-speakers is significantly slower than triaging English-speakers. Methods employed to communicate include language line, Arabicspeaking staff, family and online translation tools. The majority of Arabic-speaking staff reported that their clinical work is disrupted by having to act as an ad hoc interpreter. Following the introduction of the triage sheet, 100% of triage staff agreed that it made the triage process more efficient.

Discussion

Despite not being a replacement for a thorough clinical history, an Arabic language triage sheet helped streamline the triage process and ease the pressure on Arabic-speaking members of staff. This model can be applied in other settings where an A&E department caters to a significant minority of non-English speakers.