A recent study conducted by researchers at the University of Ottawa and the University of Manitoba has shed light on the importance of language in the patient-doctor relationship. The study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open, focused on the impact of common language in the relationship on decreasing cardiovascular disease and improving overall health outcomes.
The retrospective cohort study included 124,583 respondents with hypertension who spoke nearly 100 different languages. The findings revealed that patients who received care from a doctor who spoke their preferred language were 36% less likely to experience a major adverse cardiovascular event, such as a heart attack, heart failure, or stroke. Additionally, these patients were 28% less likely to die compared to those who did not receive care in their preferred language.
Lead researcher Michael Reaume, a resident in the Faculty of Medicine’s Department of Nephrology, emphasized the significance of the findings. He stated that if there was a new medication that could decrease the risk of major adverse cardiovascular events by 36% or reduce all-cause mortality by 28%, it would be immediately offered to patients. Reaume called for a shift in how language barriers are addressed in healthcare systems, highlighting the need to systematically collect preferred language information from all patients. This data would enable healthcare providers to match patients with professionals who speak their language or provide interpretation services when needed.
The study proposed several recommendations to optimize the delivery of language-concordant care, including advocating for equitable access to medical education for minority language communities and collecting information on the languages spoken by patients and healthcare providers. By implementing strategies to match patients with language-proficient healthcare providers, significant improvements in cardiovascular outcomes and overall population care could be achieved.
For more information on the study, you can access the full article in JAMA Network Open. The University of Ottawa provided this valuable research, emphasizing the importance of language in healthcare for better patient outcomes.
Source:
https://medicalxpress.com/news/2025-02-language-barriers-health-patient-doctor.html
