Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration, College of Pharmacy, Western University of Health Sciences, 309 E, Second St., Pomona, CA 91766, USA.
Res Social Adm Pharm. 2011 Dec;7(4):338-46. doi: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2010.08.001. Epub 2010 Oct 2.
The number of patients with limited English proficiency is on the rise in the United States, and conveying medication information to these individuals in an effective manner is crucial to improve adherence and reduce medication errors.
To examine (1) self-reported capability for and actual provision of prescription labels or verbal medication information in languages other than English by California pharmacies and (2) characteristics of pharmacies that provide such services.
In this cross-sectional, observational study, pharmacists in charge at 552 randomly selected retail pharmacies throughout California (US) were interviewed by phone. The main outcome measures of the study were number of pharmacies that could and did provide multilingual labels (MLs) and/or offer medication information verbally in the patient's preferred language. Chi-square tests and multivariate logistic regression analysis were used to determine associations between availability of MLs and verbal translation services and the demographic characteristics of pharmacies.
Approximately, 69% of the pharmacies surveyed could provide MLs, and 67.9% did provide MLs routinely on patient request. Verbal translation of labels or other medication information such as leaflets, pamphlets, and guides was offered to patients who requested it in 82.4% of pharmacies. Chain pharmacies reported a significantly higher capability to provide MLs than independent pharmacies (Adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=0.28; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.19, 0.42; P<.0001). Pharmacies located in rural areas reported higher availability of MLs (AOR=5.02; 95% CI=2.00, 12.6; P<.001) than pharmacies in urban areas. Pharmacies with higher number of estimated limited English proficient (LEP) patients reported higher availability of MLs (AOR=1.03; 95% CI=1.02, 1.05; P<.0001) and verbal translations (AOR=1.07; 95% CI=1.03, 1.09; P<.0001).
There exists an unfulfilled need for providing MLs and/or verbal translations to LEP patients. Pharmacists and health care providers can fill this need to ensure appropriate medication usage and adherence and consequently reduce medication errors in this population.
在美国，英语水平有限的患者人数不断增加，因此以有效方式向这些患者传达药物信息对于提高用药依从性和减少用药错误至关重要。
本研究旨在（1）调查加利福尼亚州的药房在多大程度上能够并实际提供非英语处方标签或口头药物信息，以及（2）确定提供此类服务的药房的特征。
本横断面观察性研究通过电话采访了加利福尼亚州（美国）随机抽取的 552 家零售药房的负责人。本研究的主要观察指标是能够且实际提供多语言标签（MLs）和/或根据患者的首选语言提供口头药物信息的药房数量。采用卡方检验和多变量逻辑回归分析来确定 ML 和口头翻译服务的提供情况与药房人口统计学特征之间的关联。
约 69%的被调查药房能够提供 ML，且 67.9%的药房会根据患者要求常规提供 ML。在 82.4%的药房中，会向要求的患者提供标签或其他药物信息（如传单、小册子和指南）的口头翻译。连锁药房提供 ML 的能力明显高于独立药房（调整后的优势比 [AOR]=0.28；95%置信区间 [CI]=0.19，0.42；P<.0001）。位于农村地区的药房提供 ML 的可能性更高（AOR=5.02；95% CI=2.00，12.6；P<.001），而位于城市地区的药房则较低。估计有更多英语水平有限的患者（LEP）的药房提供 ML 和口头翻译的可能性更高（AOR=1.03；95% CI=1.02，1.05；P<.0001）。
为 LEP 患者提供 ML 和/或口头翻译的需求尚未得到满足。药剂师和医疗保健提供者可以满足这一需求，以确保在这一人群中正确使用和遵守药物，并因此减少用药错误。
