Latino VoicesVideoHispanic HeritageLatino Voices

Mobile Technology Helps Non-Spanish Speaking Health Providers Treat Latino Patients

Mobile Apps Bridging Language Gaps Between Health Providers And Latinos
Open Image Modal
By 

Deputy Editor HuffPost Latino Voices & Voces

|

Technology keeps bridging people together. And language is not the barrier it used to be.

The growth of the Hispanic population in the United States has increased the demand for ways in which health care providers can communicate with Spanish-dominant patients. And newly developed technologies are ready to alleviate this demand.

Nowadays, family members and on-call interpreting companies serve as essential communication tools between Spanish-speaking Hispanic patients and doctors who are not fluent in the language. However, in this new age of technology, this language barrier is slowly being slowly torn down to minimize the likelihood that miscommunication could lead to lower quality medical care for this community.

According to a 2003 report from The Commonwealth Fund, Hispanics who were Spanish dominant generally had poorer health, were less likely to have a regular doctor, and were more likely to lack insurance than other communities. Difficulties gaining access to health care are worse for uninsured Hispanics who primarily speak Spanish: two-thirds (66 percent) do not have a regular doctor, compared with 37 percent of uninsured whites.

But the arrival of new smart phones has given application developers the opportunity to supply some of that needed language assistance. Applications such as MediBabble Translator, Pocket Medical Spanish and Polyglot: Multimedia Spanish Translator have managed to create a platform to improve the safety, efficiency and overall quality of care for non-English speaking patients.

Polyglot Med Spanish, created by the Duke Area Health Education Center (AHEC) in 2011 but re-launched recently, offers the immediate audio translation to over 3,000 common medical words, phrases, and assessment questions in both languages.

“It was developed by a Duke Medical student. He realized the challenges of health care providers even with some Spanish language skills to effectively and appropriately communicate with Spanish-speaking patients,” said Dr. Marvin Swartz, Director of Duke AHEC. “The app is not designed to substitute a professionally trained interpreter. However, as a learning tool to build the health care provider’s basic acquisition of the language, the Polyglot Med Spanish app is a great tool.”

The app is free and can be found in both the Apple AppStore and Google Play marketplaces. Additionally, Spanish-speaking doctors who might need immediate assistance to translate into English can also use it.

"It works in both directions. It features the English to Spanish translation as well as the Spanish to English translation [in order to] assist health care providers whose primary language is Spanish to learn English medical terms and assessment questions as well,” said Dr. Swartz.

The apps are here to stay. And while renowned inventor Ray Kurzweil, predicts that by the year 2029 machines will have reached human levels of translation, apps like Polyglot will be essential in allowing different communities to understand each other through language.

Our 2024 Coverage Needs You

As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.

Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.

to keep our news free for all.

Support HuffPost

Before You Go

Latinos And Health Insurance
Uninsured -- countrywide (01 of10)
Open Image Modal
Nearly 33 percent of Hispanics under the age of 65 had no health coverage in 2010.Hispanics had the highest numbers of uninsured compared to blacks (22 percent), whites (14 percent) and others (19 percent) who lacked health insurance. (credit:Alamy)
States With Highest Numbers Of Uninsured Latinos (02 of10)
Open Image Modal
Georgia: 45 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of Georgia. Only 22 percent of the state's total population under age 65 is in the same situation. North Carolina: 49 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of North Carolina. About 20 percent of North Carolina's population under age 65 is uninsured. Kentucky: 51 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of Kentucky. The same is true for only 18 percent of the rest of the state's residents under age 65.South Carolina: 57 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of South Carolina. Just 22 percent of the total non elderly population in South Carolina is uninsured. Source (credit:Alamy)
States With Lowest Numbers Of Uninsured Latinos (03 of10)
Open Image Modal
Massachusetts: 9 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of Massachusetts. 6 percent of the total non elderly population in Massachusetts is uninsured. Michigan: 16 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in the state of Michigan. About 15 percent of the total non elderly population in Michigan is also uninsured. Wisconsin: 20 percent of Latinos under age 65 are uninsured in the state of Wisconsin. About 11 percent of the total non elderly population in Wisconsin is uninsured. Pennsylvania: 22 percent of non elderly Hispanics are uninsured in Pennsylvania. Only 13 percent of the state's total non elderly population faces the same problem. Source (credit:Alamy)
Population Growth(04 of10)
Open Image Modal
The U.S. Hispanic population surged 43%, rising to 50.5 million in 2010 from 35.3 million in 2000. Latinos constitute 16% of the nation's total population.The Pew Hispanic Center projects that nearly one in five Americans (19%) will be foreign born in 2050. And Latinos will represent 29 percent of the nation's population in 2050, accounting for almost one third of the entire country. Immigration will be the main factor for population growth. Of the 117 million people expected to join the U.S. population between 2005 to 2050, 67 million will be immigrants.Many of these immigrants are not eligible for government-sponsored or subsidized health care under The Affordable Care Act. (credit:Alamy)
Immigrants And Medicaid (05 of10)
Open Image Modal
Medicaid provides essential coverage to vulnerable populations who might otherwise be uninsured. Latinos are about two times more likely than Whites to have coverage through Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Plan (CHIP). But immigrants are less likely to have access to employer-sponsored health insurance.Legal immigrants can enroll in Medicaid, CHIP only after they have been in the country for five years, while undocumented immigrants are barred from government insurance programs altogether, according to The Daily Beast. (credit:Alamy)
Who Are Most Likely To Be Uninsured? (06 of10)
Open Image Modal
Uninsured adults are more common than children without health insurance, but Latino kids are more than two times more likely than White children to be uninsured.Nearly 50 percent of Latino children are enrolled in Medicaid (CHIP ). However, Latino children represent the largest portion of (39.1 percent) American children who are eligible for but not enrolled in these programs. (credit:Alamy)
Leading Causes Of Death In The Latino Community In The U.S. :(07 of10)
Open Image Modal
1.Heart disease2.Cancer3.Unintentional injuries4.Stroke 5.Diabetes6.Chronic liver disease and cirrhosis7.Chronic lower respiratory disease8.Homicide9.Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period, the months just before and after birth.10.Influenza and pneumoniaSource (credit:Alamy)
Diabetes And Health Care Coverage (08 of10)
Open Image Modal
The Affordable Care Act allows for easier and more affordable treatment for chronic diseases.Insurance companies can no longer deny coverage to children under 19 due to a pre-existing condition and people who can not find affordable private coverage but earn too much for the now expanded Medicaid program or government insurance subsidies will be eligible for government-run high risk insurance pools.As diabetes disproportionately affects Hispanics in the United States, the ability to secure affordable coverage with a pre-existing condition is important. According to a CDC investigation Hispanics have double the risk of developing diabetes compared with non-Hispanic whites and they tend to develop diabetes at a younger age.Latino children and youth under 20 years of age diagnosed with diabetes is growing at an alarming rate -- the fastest of any ethnic group in the U.S. (credit:Alamy)
Costs (09 of10)
Open Image Modal
In 2008, Hispanics made up nearly 16 percent of U.S. residents but but accounted for less than 10 percent of the nation's total health care costs. (credit:Alamy)
Health Care -- Political Implications(10 of10)
Open Image Modal
U.S. Hispanics prioritize immigration, healthcare, and unemployment to equal degrees, according to a June Gallup Poll . However, a slight majority of Hispanic registered voters (21 percent) identified healthcare as the most important issue when it comes to casting their vote. (credit:Alamy)
Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip