Multilingual competencies among ambulatory care providers in three German Federal States
Abstract Background Providing medical care to newly arrived migrants presents multiple challenges. A major challenge is a lack of a common language in the absence of language interpretation services. We examine the multilingualism of German physicians and clinical psychotherapists providing ambulato...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
BMC
2022-12-01
|
| Series: | BMC Primary Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-022-01926-1 |
| _version_ | 1811188959058853888 |
|---|---|
| author | Frank Müller Harland Holman Eva Hummers Dominik Schröder Eva Maria Noack |
| author_facet | Frank Müller Harland Holman Eva Hummers Dominik Schröder Eva Maria Noack |
| author_sort | Frank Müller |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Providing medical care to newly arrived migrants presents multiple challenges. A major challenge is a lack of a common language in the absence of language interpretation services. We examine the multilingualism of German physicians and clinical psychotherapists providing ambulatory care. Methods We retrieved publicly available data from the Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians provider registry of three German federal states (Lower Saxony, Saarland, Bavaria). We selected and grouped relevant practice-based disciplines. We used descriptive statistics to analyze the provider’s multilingualism among different disciplines. Results 69.6% of ambulatory providers offer consultations only in German. 15.5% of providers reported offering consultations in one additional non-German language, and 14.9% in two or more additional languages. Most common additional languages were English (28.6%) and French (9.9%). 1.4% of providers reported offering consultation in at least one language of the Middle Eastern region (Arabic, Dari, Hebrew, Kurdish, Pashtu, Farsi, and Turkish). There were differences in the offered languages between the medical disciplines with the highest mean rates found for gynecologists and obstetricians, urologists, and general surgeons. Psychotherapeutic disciplines offered consultation in other languages significantly less often. Conclusion Our study suggests a significant numeric mismatch in the number of providers offering consultations in the languages of people seeking protection in Germany. The resulting language barriers are compromising equitable access and quality of care. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:27:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9fbee6d63a484f6f830b5bb6764dca07 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2731-4553 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:27:23Z |
| publishDate | 2022-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Primary Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-9fbee6d63a484f6f830b5bb6764dca072022-12-22T04:18:48ZengBMCBMC Primary Care2731-45532022-12-012311610.1186/s12875-022-01926-1Multilingual competencies among ambulatory care providers in three German Federal StatesFrank Müller0Harland Holman1Eva Hummers2Dominik Schröder3Eva Maria Noack4Department of General Practice, University Medical Center GöttingenDepartment of Family Medicine, College of Human Medicine, Michigan State UniversityDepartment of General Practice, University Medical Center GöttingenDepartment of General Practice, University Medical Center GöttingenDepartment of General Practice, University Medical Center GöttingenAbstract Background Providing medical care to newly arrived migrants presents multiple challenges. A major challenge is a lack of a common language in the absence of language interpretation services. We examine the multilingualism of German physicians and clinical psychotherapists providing ambulatory care. Methods We retrieved publicly available data from the Associations of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians provider registry of three German federal states (Lower Saxony, Saarland, Bavaria). We selected and grouped relevant practice-based disciplines. We used descriptive statistics to analyze the provider’s multilingualism among different disciplines. Results 69.6% of ambulatory providers offer consultations only in German. 15.5% of providers reported offering consultations in one additional non-German language, and 14.9% in two or more additional languages. Most common additional languages were English (28.6%) and French (9.9%). 1.4% of providers reported offering consultation in at least one language of the Middle Eastern region (Arabic, Dari, Hebrew, Kurdish, Pashtu, Farsi, and Turkish). There were differences in the offered languages between the medical disciplines with the highest mean rates found for gynecologists and obstetricians, urologists, and general surgeons. Psychotherapeutic disciplines offered consultation in other languages significantly less often. Conclusion Our study suggests a significant numeric mismatch in the number of providers offering consultations in the languages of people seeking protection in Germany. The resulting language barriers are compromising equitable access and quality of care.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-022-01926-1Language proficiencyPrimary careMigrationLanguage barrier |
| spellingShingle | Frank Müller Harland Holman Eva Hummers Dominik Schröder Eva Maria Noack Multilingual competencies among ambulatory care providers in three German Federal States BMC Primary Care Language proficiency Primary care Migration Language barrier |
| title | Multilingual competencies among ambulatory care providers in three German Federal States |
| title_full | Multilingual competencies among ambulatory care providers in three German Federal States |
| title_fullStr | Multilingual competencies among ambulatory care providers in three German Federal States |
| title_full_unstemmed | Multilingual competencies among ambulatory care providers in three German Federal States |
| title_short | Multilingual competencies among ambulatory care providers in three German Federal States |
| title_sort | multilingual competencies among ambulatory care providers in three german federal states |
| topic | Language proficiency Primary care Migration Language barrier |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-022-01926-1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT frankmuller multilingualcompetenciesamongambulatorycareprovidersinthreegermanfederalstates AT harlandholman multilingualcompetenciesamongambulatorycareprovidersinthreegermanfederalstates AT evahummers multilingualcompetenciesamongambulatorycareprovidersinthreegermanfederalstates AT dominikschroder multilingualcompetenciesamongambulatorycareprovidersinthreegermanfederalstates AT evamarianoack multilingualcompetenciesamongambulatorycareprovidersinthreegermanfederalstates |