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Abstract

Contigo y Por Ti is a three-year project aimed at reducing the barriers to HIV/AIDS health care for HIV-positive Hispanics with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) in the Greater Hartford area. Strategies included providing culturally and linguistically competent medical interpretation to patients at St. Francis/Burgdorf Clinic, conducting training and workshops to increase patients' knowledge about access to health care, and training health care providers in cultural and linguistic competency models. Ninety percent of the 75 participating health care providers were trained on how to use medical interpreters, OMH's Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards, and the Contigo y Por Ti Cultural Competency Model. Patients benefited from more than 1,000 medical interpreter encounters with interpreters (65) who were trained on pharmaceuticals and advanced terminology. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with the medical staff over the course of program. All patients who used the interpreting service were asked to complete a brief, anonymous satisfaction survey to assess their experience, particularly their level of comfort with interpreting and medical services.

An evaluation was conducted to assess the quality of health care and interpreting service, as well as program impact on the clinic as a whole. The data were collected using surveys, interviews and focus groups. The evaluation found that there was a high level of satisfaction among patients and medical staff with the interpreting service. For instance, medical staff identified interpreters as part of their medical team rather than ad-hoc interpreters. The evaluation also revealed some positive changes at the system level. For example, St. Francis/Burgdorf's administration expressed an interest in providing interpreting services to patients outside of this program, and they also engaged in a discussion with the executive director about utilization of interpreting services system-wide.

Related NPA Goals:

• Increased awareness, education and outreach to address racial/ethnic minority health and health disparities problems
• Improved access to, and appropriate utilization of, health & other community-based services and systems through user-centered design for racial/ethnic minorities (e.g., health IT, culturally/ linguistically appropriate services, service provider education/ training, workforce diversity)
• Strengthened leadership and coordination to leverage resources and enhance effectiveness and efficiency of individual and collective efforts (including, but not limited to, research and data)

Related Healthy People 2010 Objectives:

• 11-2 Improve the health literacy of persons with inadequate or marginal literacy skills.
• 11-3 Increase the proportion of health communication activities that include research and evaluation.
• 11-6 Increase the proportion of persons who report that their health care providers have satisfactory communication skills.
• 13-14 Reduce deaths from HIV infection.
• 13-16 Increase years of life of an HIV-infected person by extending the interval of time between an AIDS diagnosis and death.