Relationship between Illness Perception and the need for Professional Medical Interpretation for International Patients in Japan.

This study aimed to conduct a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of foreign patients to analyze the impact of patients' illness perceptions on their need for professional medical interpreters. From February 2022 to May 2023, an online questionnaire was distributed to 4,962 individuals aged 18 years or older who were non-native speakers of Japanese. These individuals were enrolled in organizations such as international exchange associations and Japanese language support classes and had utilized medical institutions in Japan due to their own illness or injury or that of their children. Among the 312 valid responses, international patients with a high score for illness perception were more likely to want to utilize professional medical interpreters than those with a low score for illness perception (odds ratio, 1.968; 95% confidence interval, 1.044-3.709; P = 0.036). Our findings suggest that hospitals should be better prepared to meet the potential language needs of international patients with a higher illness perception.

Relationship Between Patient-Provider Language Discordance and the Need for Professional Medical Interpretation for International Patients in Japan.

BACKGROUND: Language barriers between patients and healthcare providers pose significant challenges in medical care in Japanese hospitals. Inadequate patient understanding of discussions with healthcare providers because of patient-provider language discordance has been reported in previous studies. There are growing expectations of professional medical interpreters to address these challenges. A previous study reported that patients with patient-provider language discordance were more likely to need interpreter assistance compared with patients with patient-provider language concordance. OBJECTIVE: We conducted a cross-sectional study utilizing a questionnaire survey of foreign patients to analyze the impact of the degree of patient-provider language discordance on the degree of patient comprehension of patient-provider communication, as well as patients' need for professional medical interpreters in Japanese hospitals. METHOD: From February 2022 to May 2023, an online questionnaire was distributed to 4,962 individuals aged 18 years or older who were non-native speakers of Japanese and who had attended medical institutions in Japan because of illness or injury experienced by themselves or by their children. A chi-square test and residual analysis were used to analyze the relationship between patient-provider language discordance and patient comprehension of patient-provider language concordance. Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the relationship between patient-provider language discordance and the necessity of professional medical interpretation. RESULTS: Among 4,962 study subjects who received the online survey, the total number of responses was 363 (7.3%). The rate of low-level patient comprehension was significantly higher in the patient-provider language discordance group compared with other groups. In a logistic regression model that accounted for sociodemographic factors, both the partial and complete patient-provider language discordance groups were more likely to want to use professional medical interpreters compared with the patient-provider language concordance group (OR: 4.16; 95% CI, 1.55-11.16; P=0.005; OR: 4.73; 95% CI, 1.70-13.18; P=0.003, respectively). CONCLUSION: The current findings suggest that hospitals should be better prepared to meet the potential language needs of international patients with no or limited use of Japanese in daily conversation.

Illness Perception Accorded by Language Assistance in Non-Japanese-Speaking Patients.

Background and objective While over half of foreign residents in Japan need language assistance during medical consultations, no extant studies have clarified illness perception accorded by language assistance in non-Japanese-speaking patients. This cross-sectional study conducted an online questionnaire survey to investigate the illness perception of non-Japanese-speaking patients and analyze the factors related to illness perception. Methodology The survey was conducted twice, from February to May 2022 and from February to April 2023, targeting non-Japanese-speaking individuals. In total, 293 valid responses were obtained. The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief IPQ) scores were compared between the groups receiving language assistance and those without assistance, and a logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the factors related to illness perception accorded by the status of the language assistance group. Results The total score for illness perception was significantly lower in the language assistance group than in the non-assistance group (P = 0.04). Moreover, in the language assistance group, age (odds ratio [OR] = 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.84-0.99) and comprehension of medical consultations (OR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.11-0.83) were significantly associated with low illness perception among participants. However, these associations were not observed in the non-assistance group. Conclusions These findings underscore the crucial role of ensuring effective communication and promoting a better understanding of illness perception during medical consultations.