Gaeta Laura, John Andrew
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Health and Human Services, California State University, Sacramento, CA, USA.
Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, College of Allied Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
Hisp Health Care Int. 2025 Sep;23(3):160-169. doi: 10.1177/15404153241286766. Epub 2024 Oct 3.
Health care providers working with Spanish-speaking patients must provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care to meet the communication needs of this population. Disparities related to hearing health care access remain understudied, leaving gaps in clinical practice and guidance for audiologists. The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of Spanish-speaking patients with hearing loss when accessing hearing health care services through a limited income hearing aid program. Six Spanish-speaking patients (three monolingual Spanish, three bilingual Spanish/English) with hearing loss from the Oklahoma City metropolitan area completed in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Three main themes emerged: (1) perceived barriers to service delivery (cost, language, and transportation); (2) success with hearing health care (use of interpreters and reduced cost of services and amplification); and (3) cultural factors (family, religion, and use of home remedies). The themes identified can provide a foundation for service delivery of patient-centered services that are culturally and linguistically appropriate to help improve access to and quality of hearing health care, particularly for this population of patients. This study identified factors that may contribute to hearing health care disparities for Spanish-speaking adults, which may not be observed in other disciplines that are less communication-focused. Suggestions for improving services for audiologists serving Spanish-speaking patients are discussed.
为讲西班牙语的患者提供医疗服务的医护人员必须提供符合文化和语言习惯的恰当护理，以满足这一人群的沟通需求。与听力保健服务可及性相关的差异仍未得到充分研究，导致临床实践和对听力学家的指导存在空白。本研究的目的是探讨讲西班牙语的听力损失患者通过有限收入助听器项目获得听力保健服务时的经历。来自俄克拉荷马城大都市区的六名讲西班牙语的听力损失患者（三名仅说西班牙语，三名西班牙语/英语双语）完成了深入的半结构化访谈。出现了三个主要主题：（1）服务提供方面的感知障碍（成本、语言和交通）；（2）听力保健的成功之处（使用口译员以及服务和放大设备成本降低）；（3）文化因素（家庭、宗教和使用家庭疗法）。所确定的主题可为以患者为中心、符合文化和语言习惯的服务提供奠定基础，以帮助改善听力保健服务的可及性和质量，特别是针对这一患者群体。本研究确定了可能导致讲西班牙语的成年人听力保健差异的因素，而在其他不太注重沟通的学科中可能观察不到这些因素。文中讨论了为服务讲西班牙语患者的听力学家改善服务的建议。
