Translation of Credentialing Examination for Providers with English as a Second Language: An Exploratory Study.

Racial and ethnic minorities disproportionately suffer the burden of adverse health outcomes in the United States. Increasing the diversity of healthcare providers may help decrease disparities in outcomes. Unfortunately, language barriers may affect performance in nursing school and credentialing examinations. The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify current practices and trends affecting the translation of credentialing examinations. Commissioned by the National Board of Certification and Recertification for Nurse Anesthetists, a survey was sent to the credentialing organizations soliciting information about their exam translation practices and considerations. Among the 27 credentialing organizations (two licensure and 25 certification organizations) that completed the survey, 63% were from healthcare. All the organizations offered their credentialing examinations in English. Some offered their examination in Chinese/Mandarin (15%), Spanish (11%), French (7%), and Arabic (7%). The majority (78%) do not translate their examinations into another language. Among the six credentialing organizations translating their examinations, 67% translate one, and 17% translate two examinations. Most use the forward and back-translation techniques. For organizations embarking on a multilingual credentialing program, it is imperative to ensure psychometric equivalence of their examinations. Translation can help ensure that candidates are tested on their intended competencies, not their language proficiency.

The cardiovascular health status of minority female nursing assistants working in long-term care: a pilot study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the cardiovascular disease (CVD) status of nursing assistants (NAs) working in long-term care. BACKGROUND: Most research with NAs focus on work-related outcomes despite NAs' potentially high risk for CVD. METHODS: Baseline data from a pilot physical activity (PA) and diet focused health promotion study were used to describe NAs CVD risk. Objective (blood pressure, lipid panel, PA levels, body mass index) and subjective (depressive symptoms) data from 39 NAs were used to provide a CVD assessment. RESULTS: Twenty-nine (76.3%) participants had at least three CVD risk factors. Specifically, 18% of participants were hypertensive, 89% of participants were overweight/obese, 90% of participants had hyperlipidemia and 97% of participants did not meet PA guidelines. CONCLUSION: The data suggest NAs working in long-term care have multiple CVD risk factors. Future research should consider PA and diet focused worksite health promotion (WHP) interventions to decrease their CVD risks.