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Explore the importance of collecting primary language data for providing culturally appropriate services in early childhood intervention. Learn about language barriers, interpreter services, assessing service disparities, and matching families by language and culture.
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Collecting Primary Language Information LINKED-DISC - provincial database system for early childhood intervention Services Herb Chan
Language related access barriers and interpreter services? Assessing service disparities among different ethnic communities? Providing ethnically or culturally appropriate services? Matching families with similar language/culture for group services/programs? Designing language and cultural training workshops for service providers? Purposes of Collecting Primary Language Information
Language Barrier Interpreter service may be needed when: • Both parents with limited English • One of the two parents with limited English
Interpreter Service as proxy for Language Barrier • Some families may speak limited English but for some reasons did not want interpreter services. • Some families may speak limited English. No interpreter was requested because the service provider was able to speak their language
Ethnicity Are we interested in the family’s • Ethnic background? • Cultural background?
Terminology Race suggests a biological basis for socially constructed categories and implies genetic homogeneity within broadly defined heterogeneous population. Ethnicity means different things in different context. In a general term, ethnicity refers to membership in a wide range of groups defined by culture, heritage or national origin. Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation.
Issues in collecting ethnicity data in a multicultural society • Multiple ethnic backgrounds (Kaplan & Bennett, 2003) • Relationship between health outcome and ethnicity is not a straightforward concept • We need to know the purpose of collecting ethnic information. For example, are we interested in studying underserved ethnic communities? • If we focus on the ethnicity only, information such as recent immigrants will be missed.
Cultural Background Primary Language as Proxy for Cultural information • This might just be a good alternative
Primary language spoken at home reflects: • Recent immigrant, • The way we live, • Cultural background, and/or • Health belief
Primary Languages in BC (at least 75 languages) Punjabi Dutch Urdu Czech Hungarian German Greek Danish French Spanish Hindi Ukrainian Chinese- Cantonese Tagalog English Romanian Gujarati Italian Polish Russian Japanese Serbian Vietnamese Croatian Farsi Serbo-Croatian Chinese- Mandarin
Top 20 most common languages in BC Source: Statistics Canada 2001
Don’t forget these • Aboriginal/First Nations Languages • English + Another language • American Sign Language
Primary Language of the Child: • Same as primary caregiver’s? • English + primary caregiver’s language? • A different dialect from parents’ when grandparent is the primary caregiver? • Sign language?
LINKED-DISC Database Family Information Module Primary caregiver 1 – ESL as language barrier Primary caregiver 2 – ESL as language barrier Primary caregiver 1 – Primary Language Primary caregiver 2 – Primary Language Interpreter service and comment
ESL – Primary Caregiver • Yes, and is a barrier • Yes, but not a barrier • No • Let parents and caregivers determine !!!
Primary Language – Primary Caregiver 1 Chinese - Mandarin • Primary Caregiver preferred language for Communication • Service Provider may need to ask family’s preference
Interpreter Service • Yes • No Interpreter Comment Free Text
Child’s Language English 1st 2nd Chinese-Mandarin Reading Material English
Obtaining Data on Patient Race, Ethnicity, and Primary Language in Health Care Organizations: Current Challenges and Proposed Solutions. Hasnain-Wynia and Baker: Health Services Research 41(4): 1501-1517, 2006 The Assessment and Documentation of Language and Communication Needs in Healthcare System: Current Practices and Future Directions for Coordinating Safe, Patient-Centred Care. Nalion: Nursing Outlook 55: 311-317, 2007 Glossary of Terms Relating to Ethnicity and Race: For reflection and Debate Bhopal: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 58:441-445, 2004 User of Race and Ethnicity in Biomedical Publication. Kaplan and Bennett 289: 2709 -2716, 2007 References
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