Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29121920›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2017

Telephone triage utilization among patients with limited English proficiency.

Jane W Njeru, Swathi Damodaran, Frederick North, Debra J Jacobson, Patrick M Wilson, Jennifer L St Sauver, Carmen Radecki Breitkopf, Mark L Wieland

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
15citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

15 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
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  4. Evaluation of the performance of telephone triage service.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Jane W NjeruDivision of Primary Care Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA. Njeru.jane@mayo.edu.
Swathi DamodaranMayo Medical School, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA.
Frederick NorthDivision of Primary Care Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.
Debra J JacobsonDivision of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Rochester, MN, USA.
Patrick M WilsonDivision of Biomedical Statistics and Informatics, Department of Health Sciences Research, Rochester, MN, USA.
Jennifer L St SauverRobert D and Patricia E Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery, Rochester, MN, USA.
Carmen Radecki BreitkopfDepartment of Health Sciences Research, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA.
Mark L WielandDivision of Primary Care Internal Medicine, Department of Medicine, Mayo Clinic, 200 First Street SW, Rochester, MN, 55905, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundCommunication between patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) and telephone triage services has not been previously explored. The purpose of this study was to determine the utilization characteristics of a primary care triage call center by patients with LEP.

methodsThis was a retrospective cohort study of the utilization of a computer-aided, nurse-led telephone triage system by English proficiency status of patients empaneled to a large primary care practice network in the Midwest United States. Interpreter Services (IS) need was used as a proxy for LEP.

resultsCall volumes between the 587 adult patients with LEP and an age-frequency matched cohort of English-Proficient (EP) patients were similar. Calls from patients with LEP were longer and more often made by a surrogate. Patients with LEP received recommendations for higher acuity care more frequently (49.4% versus 39.0%; P < 0.0004), and disagreed with recommendations more frequently (30.1% versus 20.9%; P = 0.0004). These associations remained after adjustment for comorbidities. Patients with LEP were also less likely to follow recommendations (60.9% versus 69.4%; P = 0.0029), even after adjusting for confounders (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.65; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.49, 0.85; P < 0.001).

conclusionPatients with LEP who utilized a computer-aided, nurse-led telephone triage system were more likely to receive recommendations for higher acuity care compared to EP patients. They were also less likely to agree with, or follow, recommendations given. Additional research is needed to better understand how telephone triage can better serve patients with LEP.

Indexed as

Communication BarriersLanguageAdolescentAdultAgedComprehensionEmigrants and ImmigrantsFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedRefugeesRetrospective StudiesTelephoneTriageUnited StatesImmigrants and refugeesInterpreter servicesLimited English proficiencyTelephone triage

Identifiers

PMID29121920
PMCPMC5679138

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.