Date of Award
Spring 2023
Degree Type
Thesis
Department
Public Health
Director of Thesis
Dr. Kara Montgomery
Second Reader
Dr. Patrick Brissey
Abstract
Language barriers in healthcare produce a wide range of negative effects that diminish healthcare quality and delivery. One consequence in particular is the diminished degree of cultural competence and consideration in the field of medicine. This thesis provides a review of past literature on significant adverse problems caused by the presence of language barriers in healthcare, as well as a detailed perspective into how language barriers damage and decrease the degree of cultural competence utilized by healthcare professionals when providing care for the specific Vietnamese-American ethnic group. Through the interpretation, language barriers are reasonably concluded to be a significant obstacle to cultural competence and consideration in treatment and medical care, and highlighted as a significant problem that must be further addressed in today’s system of healthcare. Furthermore, the finding proposes a new approach for mitigating the effects of language barriers in healthcare by focusing on the source of language barriers more so than efforts to lessen their severity.
First Page
1
Last Page
22
Recommended Citation
Ta, Dylan, "Language Barriers in Healthcare: Consequences & Impact on Cultural Competency, with Focus on Vietnamese-American Patient Populations" (2023). Senior Theses. 892.
https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/senior_theses/892
Rights
© 2023, Dylan Ta