Trial reportBMJ open quality2021
Access to Translator (AT&T) project: Interpreter on Wheels during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Trial report in BMJ open quality, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 17 citations in OpenAlex.
- Strategies to Improve Care in the Emergency Department for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Adults: a Systematic Review.Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities · 2025Pooled it
- Virtual and in-person interpretation: a qualitative study from the perspective of professional medical interpreters.Family practice · 2026Article
- Quantitative resource utilisation of patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) at a community hospital emergency department (ED) observational controlled study (LEP-ED2 study).BMJ open quality · 2026Observational
- Accuracy of preferred language data in a multi-hospital electronic health record in Toronto, Canada.PLOS digital health · 2025Article
- Inclusive Crisis Communication in a Pandemic Context: A Rapid Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Review
- Advancing language concordant care: a multimodal medical interpretation intervention.BMJ open quality · 2024Article
- Strategies Used by Healthcare Systems to Communicate with Hospitalized Patients and Families with Limited English Proficiency During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2023Review
- Improving Communication for Surgical Patients With Cancer With Limited English Proficiency.Clinical journal of oncology nursing · 2023Article
- Disparities in eye clinic patient encounters among patients requiring language interpreter services.BMC ophthalmology · 2023Article
- Observational study on resource utilisation of patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) at a high-LEP serving community hospital emergency department.BMJ open quality · 2023Observational
- Article
- Video Relay Interpretation and Overcoming Barriers in Health Care for Deaf Users: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
We report our experience in using virtual technology in our emergency department (ED) to meet communication needs of our patients who have limited English proficiency (LEP) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our project aim was to improve communication between our ED staff and patients who have LEP. Specifically, our primary aim was to eliminate the use of healthcare staff as ad hoc interpreters by 50% in our ED by using virtual medical interpreters within 2 months. To achieve our goal, several strategies were employed. First, we assessed the need for interpreters in our ED by tracking the number of times our nursing staff is pulled away from their nursing role to help other staff as an ad hoc interpreter. Second, a patient survey was conducted to understand their thoughts and needs for interpretation in the ED. Third, we developed strategies in improving access to interpreters in our ED. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a trial of using 'Interpreter on Wheels' (IOW) in our ED. In a 2-month period, we had 477 virtual interpretation encounters totaling 4123 interpretation minutes of IOW usage. We found that it satisfied not only our communication needs but also reduced some of our potential infection control risks during the pandemic.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.