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

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.