Use of Interpreters for non-native English speaking Kidney Allograft Recipients and outcomes after Kidney Transplantation

• Main Authors: Sanna Tahir (Author), Holly Gillott (Author), Francesca Jackson Spence (Author), Jay Nath (Author), Jemma Mytton (Author), Felicity Evison (Author), Adnan Sharif (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: Archives of Renal Diseases and Management - Peertechz Publications, 2017-06-01.
• Subjects: Research Article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

Summary

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Language barriers are associated with worse health outcomes in the general population but  data  in  kidney  transplantation  is  lacking.  This  study  tested  the  hypothesis  that  non-native  English speakers  using  interpreters  have  poorer  outcomes  after  kidney  transplantation  compared  to  native English speakers. </p><p><strong>Methods:</strong>  A  single-center  retrospective  study  analyzing  all  kidney  allograft  recipients  transplanted  between   2007-2015,   with   data   linkage   between   various   electronic   patient   records   to   create comprehensive database. </p><p><strong>Results:</strong> Data was extracted for 1,140 patients, with median follow up 4.4 years' post-transplantation. Ethnicity  breakdown  was;  Caucasian  (72.1%),  black  (5.5%),  south  Asian  (17.6%)  and  other 4.7%). Interpreters had been requested for 40 kidney allograft recipients, with the commonest language required being Urdu/Punjabi (n=25). Patients requiring interpreting services were more likely to be of south Asian ethnicity (80.0% of users versus 15.4% of non-users, p<0.001) and female (60.0% of users versus 39.5% of non-users, p=0.008). Recipients using versus not using interpreters had less kidney allograft rejection (2.5% versus 14.8% respectively, p=0.014). There was no difference between groups for development of post-transplant diabetes, cardiac events, cerebrovascular accidents, and cancer or patient/graft survival. </p>

DOI

10.17352/2455-5495.000021