Table 2.

Language-Related Barriers to Care for Spanish-Speaking Families

Type of Barrier and Illustrative Quotes
Arrival and registration steps occur in English
“The only thing is that I speak Spanish and they are giving me something in English and I'm not going to understand very well what they're saying to me.”	“Solamente es como que yo hablo español y me están dando algo en inglés yo no voy a entender tanto lo que me están diciendo.”
Lack of bilingual personnel
“Yes, they need to have someone there who speaks Spanish in the check-out area because not everyone speaks English.”	“Sí, necesitan tener una persona acá que hable español en la oficina de “check out” porque no todas las personas hablamos inglés.”
Heavy reliance on interpreters
“…because when the interpreter leaves I can't say anything anymore, the doctor doesn't understand me and I don't understand the doctor either, so I have to be really sure that the interpreter is there so we understand each other.”	“…porque ya cuando el intérprete se vaya no puedo yo decirles nada, ni el doctor me entiende ni yo entiendo al doctor, por eso tengo que asegurarme bien que esté el intérprete ahí para que nos entendamos.”
Long wait times
“Another person had to wait because the interpreter's office has a lot of work, too much, so then they make us wait a long time. Today I had to wait, I think, an hour and a half to have one come.” Challenging telephone access “Well, no, the truth is, I don't have any complaints, only that sometimes when I've called [in Spanish], they don't answer quickly and there's a delay…or they say ‘leave your name, your birthdate, and we'll return your call’ and they don't return it, so you go back to calling again and they don't answer.”	“Ahí se tardó otra persona porque la oficina de las personas de traductores tienen mucho trabajo, demasiado, entonces nos hacen esperar mucho. Hoy me esperé creo hora y media para que llegara uno.” “Ah, no, pues la verdad no tengo ninguna queja, solamente que cuando a veces he llamado, no contestan rápido y demoran…o dice ‘deje su nombre, su fecha de nacimiento y nosotros regresamos la llamada’ y no la regresan, ahí vuelve a llamar otra vez uno y no le contestan.”