Scoping review: Definitions and outcomes of patient-provider language concordance in healthcare

Abstract

Objective: To conduct a scoping literature review to understand the conceptualization and nature of the research on patient-provider language concordance (LC) in health care.

Methods: We searched PubMed, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, and Scopus to identify peer-reviewed articles between January 1961 and August 2018. We extracted study characteristics, content, definitions, and findings.

Results: Fifty studies were included. Forty studies were quantitative, seven were qualitative, and three were mixed methods. Overall, the studies revealed inconsistent definitions and measures of patient-provider LC. Outcomes studied in connection to LC included: (1) interpersonal relationships, (2) access to health information, (3) access to care, (4) satisfaction and health-care experience, and (5) patient-related health outcomes. While four studies found that LC care had a negative or no impact on health outcomes, 46 studies reported positive outcomes associated with LC care.

Conclusions: The study findings highlight the need for more research on LC care and a consistent definition of LC using multiple measures of LC to capture the complex and multidimensional nature of language in social interaction.

Practical implications: The study findings highlight the importance of how ideologies of language shape the perceptions of language and LC, thereby influence resource allocation and priorities.

Keywords: Communication; Health; Language concordance; Scoping review.