%0 Journal Article
%T Examining the association between professional language interpreter services and intensive care unit utilization among patients with non-English language preference: Evidence from a large U.S. hospital.
%A Kelleher DP
%A Barwise AK
%A Robbins KA
%A Borah BJ
%J Patient Educ Couns
%V 128
%N 0
%D 2024 Nov 26
%M 39079432
%F 3.467
%R 10.1016/j.pec.2024.108375
%X <B>OBJECTIVE: </B>To examine the healthcare utilization of patients with non-English language preference (NELP) who utilized a professional language interpreter (PLI) in the intensive care unit (ICU) compared to similar patients with NELP who did not utilize a PLI in the ICU.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Single center cohort study of patients with NELP with at least one ICU admission a large academic medical center in the U.S. Midwest (1/1/2008-12/31/2022). The first model examined ICU length-of-stay (LOS) using a negative binomial and the second model examined whether a patient was readmitted to the ICU using a logistic regression with each model controlling for PLI utilization and covariates.<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Patients with NELP who utilized a PLI in the ICU had 0.87-days longer in the ICU (p < 0.01) and had a 46 % decreased odds of being readmitted to the ICU (p < 0.01) than a comparable patient with NELP who did not utilize a PLI in the ICU.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Providing patients with NELP with access to a PLI in the ICU can improve patient outcomes and reduce language barriers.<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>These results can provide the justification to potentially increase PLI staffing levels or increase the access to existing PLIs for more patients with NELP in ICUs.