A Survey Evaluation of Clinical Practices Utilized by Audiologists Working with Spanish-Speaking Patients

The Hispanic or Latino population in the U.S. has grown significantly during the past decades. The growth in population of Spanish speakers in the U.S. can pose difficulty accessing healthcare due to cultural/linguistic barriers. For audiologists, the influx of Spanish speaking residents may lead to questions about access to clinical services. While there are bilingual audiologists who provide services to Spanish-speaking patients, the number and locations are unknown. It is hypothesized that the number of audiologists who are bilingual is insufficient and not accessible to all. The purpose of this study is to obtain information on how audiologists provide care to Spanish speaking patients, to find overall trends in how audiologists administer care to these patients, and to determine what practices are most effective when providing audiologic services to patients who use Spanish as their primary language. The Department of Health requires that an interpreter be provided during medical appointments for patients who do not use spoken English as their primary means of communication - the information provided to patients (both spoken and written) must be provided to them in their desired language. Audiologists across the U.S. completed a survey asking questions regarding communication strategies and aspects of patient-provider communication. Audiologists were recruited using social media sites, email, and word of mouth. The data collected from the survey will answer the following questions: How do audiologists provide best clinical practice with patients who primarily speak Spanish? and Are there regional trends in how Spanish-speaking patients receive audiologic care? Results confirm the hypothesis that there are not enough Spanish-speaking audiologists. Further, audiologists generally are unaware of the necessary services and literature necessary to provide quality audiologic care to patients who use Spanish as their primary means of communication