Emergency Communications within the Limited English Proficient Chinese Community

• Published in: Journal of immigrant and minority health Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. 769 - 771
• Main Authors: Yip, Mei-Po, Calhoun, Rebecca E., Painter, Ian S., Meischke, Hendrika W., Tu, Shin-Ping
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer Science + Business Media 01.08.2014; Springer US; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Asian Americans; BRIEF COMMUNICATION; China - ethnology; Communication; Communication (Thought Transfer); Communication Barriers; Community Relations; Comparative Law; Departments; Emergency medical care; Emergency Medical Service Communication Systems; Emergency preparedness; Emergency Programs; Emergency services; English; English language; Female; Humans; Information sources; Internal Medicine; International & Foreign Law; Interviews as Topic; Language; Language proficiency; Limited English Speaking; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; Multivariate Analysis; Names; Naming; Noncitizens; Perceptions; Polls & surveys; Private International Law; Public Health; Sociology; Studies; Surveys and Questionnaires; Telephone Surveys; Trust; Washington; China; Washington; United States > US; Underserved populations; Emergency preparedness; Chinese-Americans; Telephone survey; English proficiency
• ISSN: 1557-1912; 1557-1920
• DOI: 10.1007/s10903-013-9935-0

Limited English speaking communities face communication challenges during emergencies. Our objective was to investigate Chinese limited English proficiency individuals’ perceptions of and inclination to interact with emergency communication systems. A telephone survey was conducted in Mandarin or Cantonese with 250 ethnic Chinese individuals who spoke little or no English. Respondents who spoke no English were less likely to name 9-1-1 as their first source of help for a medical emergency than those who spoke some English (p < 0.01). Those reporting higher levels of confidence in handling the situation were more likely to name 9-1-1 as their first source of help, as were those who listed 9-1-1 as their most trusted source of help (p < 0.01). For this group, the results indicate that calling 9-1-1 may require a sense of self-efficacy. Not calling 9-1-1 in a medical emergency can have serious health consequences, thus interventions are needed to increase confidence in accessing 9-1-1.