Provision of Non-English Language Services in U.S. Mental Health Facilities. 2022

Hieronimus Loho, and Robert A Rosenheck
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut (all authors); New England Mental Illness Research, Education, and Clinical Center, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, West Haven, Connecticut (Rosenheck).

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to examine the proportion of U.S. mental health facilities that provide non-English language services. METHODS Using data from the 2018 National Mental Health Services Survey, the authors examined differences between mental health facilities that provided non-English language services and those that did not across 23 organizational characteristics. Further analyses compared facilities by their method of language service provision. RESULTS Of 7,503 facilities, 5,186 (69.1%) provided non-English language services. These facilities were more likely than others to have high patient volume, be publicly owned, and be located in the 10 states with the highest percentage of residents with limited English proficiency. Among facilities with language services, 592 (11.4%) relied on multilingual staff, 2,532 (48.8%) relied on external on-call interpreters, and 2,062 (39.8%) relied on both. CONCLUSIONS Most mental health facilities provide non-English language services, and those that do tend to be large public organizations located in areas of greatest need.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007802 Language A verbal or nonverbal means of communicating ideas or feelings. Dialect,Dialects,Languages
D008605 Mental Health Services Organized services to provide mental health care. Mental Hygiene Services,Health Services, Mental,Services, Mental Health,Services, Mental Hygiene,Health Service, Mental,Hygiene Service, Mental,Hygiene Services, Mental,Mental Health Service,Mental Hygiene Service,Service, Mental Health,Service, Mental Hygiene
D003144 Communication Barriers Those factors, such as language or sociocultural relationships, which interfere in the meaningful interpretation and transmission of ideas between individuals or groups. Language Barriers,Barrier, Communication,Barrier, Language,Barriers, Communication,Barriers, Language,Communication Barrier,Language Barrier
D006778 Hospitals, Psychiatric Special hospitals which provide care to the mentally ill patient. Mental Hospitals,Hospitals, Mental,Mental Institutions,Psychiatric Hospitals,Hospital, Mental,Hospital, Psychiatric,Institution, Mental,Institutions, Mental,Mental Hospital,Mental Institution,Psychiatric Hospital
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man

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