Cultural Diversity in Health and Illness, 9e (Spector)
Chapter 1 Building Cultural and Linguistic Competence
1) Which action would a hospital
... [Show More] administrator take to meet the cultural and linguistic needs
of Spanish-speaking community members?
1. Hire professional staff from different Spanish-speaking countries.
2. Ensure that all health care workers speak Spanish.
3. Ensure that all signage is posted in Spanish as well as English.
4. Ensure health services are in varying
locations. Answer: 1
Explanation: 1. Hiring professional staff from different Spanish-speaking countries would create
a foundation for the variations in the language and culture of the different countries, and aid in
providing cultural and linguistic competence to meet the health needs of this population.
2. Ensuring all health care workers speak Spanish would benefit this population, but does
not necessarily guarantee that cultural and linguistic competence would result.
3. Spanish signage would aid with patient understanding, but this action also assumes that all
of the patient population is literate.
4. Ensuring health services are in varying locations meets the needs of many populations, but
is not necessarily a component of linguistic and cultural competence.
Cognitive Level: Applying
Patient Need: Psychosocial Integrity
Nursing/Integrated Concepts: Nursing Process: Implementation
Learning Outcome: LO02 - Describe the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically
Appropriate Services in Health Care.
2) On which criterion would the Human Resources manager focus when identifying
interpreters to support the care of patients with limited English proficiency?
1. Proficient in health language terminology
2. Availability of family members
3. Be of the same ethnic background of the patients
4. Be on 24-hour call
Answer: 1
Explanation: 1. Interpreters providing language assistance must be proficient in health language
terminology in order to provide accurate information to a patient in their own language.
2. Family members are not to be used for language assistance or interpretation unless
absolutely necessary, or on request by the patient, as they may not be able to provide objective
impartial information.
3. While it is helpful to have the same ethnic background of the patients for whom
language assistance is provided, it is not necessary.
4. An interpreter may not be able to be on 24-hour call, but back-up mechanisms should be in
place to provide language assistance when a designated interpreter is not available. Cognitive
Level: Applying
Patient Need: Safe and Effective Care Environment
Patient Need Sub: Management of Care
Nursing/Integrated Concepts: Nursing Process: Assessment
Learning Outcome: LO02 - Describe the National Standards for Culturally and Linguistically
Appropriate Services in Health Care. [Show Less]