Table A.
Report characteristics.
| Report | Aim of Study | Intervention comparison (interpreter) | Outcome measure | Study setting | Language(s) | Population (N) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anttila et al. (2017) | To examine satisfaction and comprehension depending on interpreter type. | Professional to ad hoc Professional to relational Ad hoc to relational | Satisfaction Communication | Hospital | English, Spanish | 124 |
| Kuo et al. (1999) | To describe patient utilization and satisfaction with different types of interpretation. | Professional to ad hoc Professional to relational Ad hoc to relational | Satisfaction | Primary Care Clinic | English, Spanish | 200 |
| Lee et al. (2002) | To compare satisfaction with care for patients communicating with providers in primary language, through different interpreters. | Professional to ad hoc Professional to relational Ad hoc to relational | Satisfaction | Walk-in Clinic | English, Spanish | 536 |
| Flores et al. (2012) | To compare interpreter errors and clinical consequences in encounters with different interpreters. | Professional to ad hoc Professional to none Ad hoc to none | Communication | Emergency department/room | English, Spanish | 57 |
| Bischoff et al. (2003) | To examine language concordance (with / without interpreters) between nurses and asylum seekers. | Professional to ad hoc Professional to none Ad hoc to none | Communication | Refugee reception center | Albanian, Somali, Serbo-Croatian, Arabic, Armenian, Peul, Kurd, Lingala, Tamil, Amharic, Portuguese, French, Spanish, Russian, others | 723 |
| Fagan et al. (2003) | To compare visit lengths of patients using different types of interpreters. | Professional to none Professional to relational Relational to none | Clinical outcome | Hospital | English, Spanish, Russian, Portuguese, Cambodian, others | 613 |
| Baghci et al. (2011) | To examine effect of in-person professional interpreter on patient satisfaction. | Professional to any other | Satisfaction Communication | Emergency department/room | English, Spanish | 447 |
| Hampers et al. (2002) | To compare treatment given to patients using language concordant physician or interpreters. | Professional to any other | Utilization | Emergency department/room | English, Spanish, Polish, Russian, Vietnamese, others | 4146 |
| Jacobs et al. (2007) | To determine if improved interpreter service will reduce number of tests and post discharge events and improve satisfaction for patients. | Professional to any other | Satisfaction Utilization | Hospital | English, Spanish | 323 |
| Flores et al. (2003) | Determine frequency, categories, and potential clinical consequences of errors committed by interpreters and compare quality of interpretation by different interpreters. | Professional to ad hoc | Communication | Outpatient clinic | English, Spanish | 13 |
| Gany et al. (2007)A | To determine accuracy and speed of four different medical interpretation strategies. | Professional to ad hoc | Communication | Hospital | English, Spanish | 16 |
| Gany et al. (2007)B | To evaluate patient satisfaction with RSMI compared to usual modes of interpretation. | Professional to ad hoc | Satisfaction | Primary care clinic and emergency department. | English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese | 1276 |
| Garcia et al. (2004) | To determine whether type of interpreter influences patient satisfaction and communication. | Professional to ad hoc | Satisfaction Communication | Emergency department/room | English, Spanish | 240 |
| Nápoles et al. (2015) | To assess communication and determine patient outcome based on communicative errors when comparing different interpreter types. | Professional to ad hoc | Communication | Hospital | English, Spanish | 32 |
| Butow et al. (2011) | To describe equivalence of messages conveyed by different interpreter types. | Professional to relational | Communication | Hospital | English, Arabic, Chinese, Greek | 32 |
| Xue et al. (2019) | To compare communication by comparing survey results conducted with two different types of interpreters. | Professional to relational | Communication | Post-surgery survey (out-patient clinic) | English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Greek, Macedonian, Italian, Serbian, Vietnamese, Assyrian, Punjabi, Croatian, Farsi, others | 125 |
| Hartford et al. (2019) | To describe patterns of interpreter use, determine factors associated with interpreter use and differences in patient outcomes between LEP and English proficient patients. | Professional to none | Clinical outcome | Emergency department/room | English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Vietnamese, Russian, Somali, Amharic, Arabic, Oromo, Tigrinya | 51,826 |
| López et al. (2015) | To examine if hospitalized LEP patients receive interpreter services during stay, and if use of interpreter impacts length of stay. | Professional to none | Clinical outcome Utilization | Hospital | not specified | 4224 |
| Luan Erfe et al. (2017) | To examine if professional medical interpreter had an impact on care provided for acute ischemic stroke patients. | Professional to none | Utilization | Hospital | English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Haitian Creole, Mandarin, Cantonese, Italian, others | 259 |
| Lindholm et al. (2012) | To examine length of stay and 30-day readmission for LEP patients by access to professional interpretation. | Professional to none | Clinical outcome | Hospital | English, Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Albanian, Russian, others | 3127 |
| Baker et al. (1996)* | To examine if interpreter use affect accuracy of patients' understanding of diagnosis and treatment plan. | Any to none | Communication | Emergency department/room | English, Spanish | 530 |
| Baker et al. (1998)* | To compare satisfaction with care for patients based on need and use of interpreters. | Any to none | Satisfaction | Emergency department/room | English, Spanish | 467 |
| Bernstein et al. (2002) | To investigate impact of interpreter services on patients’ emergency department visit, utilization and charges. | Professional to none | Utilization | Emergency department/room | English, Spanish, Portuguese Creole, Haitian Creole | 500 |
| Moreno et al. (2010) | To compare satisfaction and communication between patients receiving interpreter services and not. | Any to none | Satisfaction Communication | Medical Clinics | English, Spanish | 1590 |
| Sarver et al. (2000)* | To examine association between language barriers and rates of referral for follow-up, patients’ knowledge of an appointment and compliance. | Any to none | Utilization | Hospital | English, Spanish | 1997 |
| Brooks et al. (2016) | LEP patient narratives to understand patient experiences of inadequately interpreted clinical encounters. | Professional to ad hoc | Satisfaction Communication Clinical Outcome | Any medical encounter in the last six months | English, Spanish | 22 |
| Greenhalgh et al. (2006) | To examine communication between providers, professional and relational interpreters and patients through the theories of J. Harbermas. | Professional to relational | Communication | Interviews with patients, interpreters and physicians. | Albanian, Farsi, French, Gujarati, Turkish, Bengali, Cantonese, Romanian, Somali, Spanish, Arabic, Greek, Urdu | 69 |
| Hilder et al. (2017) | To analyze interactions in consultations between physicians, patients and interpreters. | Professional to relational | Communication | Private practitioner | English, Assyrian, Gujarati, Khmer, Mandarin, Samoan, Somali, Tigrinya/Arabic, Tongan | 16 |
| Leanza et al. (2010) | To compare difference in quality of communication as per J. Habermas in consultations with a different interpreter type. | Professional to relational | Communication | Private practitioner | English, Punjabi, Vietnamese, Bengali, Tamil, Dari | 16 |
*Based on the same study: conducted at Harbor–UCLA Medical Center, a 500-bed public hospital in Torrance, California, USA.
LEP = limited English proficiency, ED = emergency department, RSMI = remote simultaneous medical interpretation.