The impact of language barriers & interpreters on critical care patient outcomes
Authors' conclusion
Being identified as having a requirement for an interpreter was associated with improved outcomes for adults admitted to public hospital ICUs in Victoria.
Study context
- Population
- Adults with non-elective intensive care unit (ICU) admission to all 23 public ICUs in Victoria, Australia, July 2007 to June 2018ICU admissions analysed
- Participants
- 126,891 adults
- Exposure
- English not preferred and Interpreter required vs English preferred
- English not preferredn = 3,394
- Interpreter requiredn = 6,355
- Outcome
- In-hospital mortality
Methodological detailsmulticentre, linked registry data
- Multicentre
- Linked registry data
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Each group vs english preferredOdds ratio (95% CI)P value
English not preferred
1.21(1.07–1.36)
P = 0.002Interpreter required
0.81(0.74–0.89)
P < 0.001Observational data: associations, not effects.
Further findings
Baseline characteristics
- English not preferred and Interpreter required groups older, with more co-morbidities and higher severity of illness scores vs English preferred
Original publication
The impact of language barriers & interpreters on critical care patient outcomes. J Crit Care. Published 27 October 2022. doi:10.
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