Collecting Primary Language Information

LINKED-DISC - provincial database system for early childhood intervention Services

Herb Chan

Purposes of Collecting Primary Language Information

Language related access barriers and interpreter services?

Assessing service disparities among different ethnic communities?

Providing ethnically or culturally appropriate services?

Matching families with similar language/culture for group services/programs?

Designing language and cultural training workshops for service providers?

1. Both parents with limited English

2. One of the two parents with limited English

Interpreter service may be needed when:

Language Barrier

Interpreter Service as proxy for Language Barrier

• Some families may speak limited English but for some reasons did not want interpreter services.

• Some families may speak limited English. No interpreter was requested because the service provider was able to speak their language

Are we interested in the family’s

Ethnic background?

Cultural background?

Ethnicity

Race suggests a biological basis for socially constructed categories and implies genetic homogeneity within broadly defined heterogeneous population.

Ethnicity means different things in different context. In a general term, ethnicity refers to membership in a wide range of groups defined by culture, heritage or national origin.

Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation.

Terminology

1 British

2 Canadian

3 Chinese

4 German

5 East Indian

6 Aboriginal

7 Dutch

8 Irish

9 French

10 Italian

11 Ukrainian

12 Filipino

13 Polish

14 Japanese

15 Korean

16 Portuguese

17 Vietnamese

18 Norwegian

19 Russian

20 Hungarian

Top 20 Self-Identified Ethnic Origins in BC

Issues in collecting ethnicity data in a multicultural society

Multiple ethnic backgrounds (Kaplan & Bennett, 2003)

Relationship between health outcome and ethnicity is not a straightforward concept

We need to know the purpose of collecting ethnic information. For example, are we interested in studying underserved ethnic communities?

If we focus on the ethnicity only, information such as recent immigrants will be missed.

Primary Language as Proxy for Cultural information

This might just be a good alternative

Cultural Background

Recent immigrant,

The way we live,

Cultural background, and/or

Health belief

Primary language spoken at home reflects:

Primary Languages in BC (at least 75 languages)

Czech

Serbo-Croatian

FrenchDanishGreek

Hindi

Punjabi

Romanian

Dutch

RussianJapanese

English

Farsi

Italian Polish

HungarianGerman

Gujarati

Croatian

Serbian

Chinese- Mandarin

Chinese- Cantonese

Spanish

TagalogUkrainian

Urdu

Vietnamese

Source: Statistics Canada 2001

Top 20 most common languages in BC

Single responses CanadaBritish

Columbia

English 17352315 2825780

Cantonese 322315 127155

Punjabi 271220 121740

German 438080 84605

French 6703330 54400

Mandarin 101790 48880

Tagalog 174060 35940

Spanish 245495 28235

Italian 469490 28165

Korean 85070 28105

Dutch 128670 26745

Vietnamese 122055 23220

Farsi 94095 21290

Hindi 56320 20295

Japanese 34815 17900

Polish 208375 17320

Russian 94555 14920

Portuguese 213810 14155

Ukrainian 148085 13600

Hungarian 75555 10775

Aboriginal/First Nations Languages

American Sign Language

English + Another language

Don’t forget these

Primary Language of the Child:

Same as primary caregiver’s?

English + primary caregiver’s language?

A different dialect from parents’ when grandparent is the primary caregiver?

Sign language?

LINKED-DISC Database

Family Information Module

Primary caregiver 1 – ESL as language barrier

Primary caregiver 2 – ESL as language barrier

Primary caregiver 1 – Primary Language

Primary caregiver 2 – Primary Language

Interpreter service and comment

ESL – Primary Caregiver

Yes, and is a barrier

Yes, but not a barrier

No

Let parents and caregivers determine !!!

Primary Language – Primary Caregiver 1

Primary Caregiver preferred language for Communication

Service Provider may need to ask family’s preference

Chinese - Mandarin

Interpreter Service

Yes

No

Interpreter Comment

Free Text

Child’s Language

English

Reading Material

English

Chinese-Mandarin

1st

2nd

ReferencesObtaining Data on Patient Race, Ethnicity, and Primary Language in Health Care Organizations: Current Challenges and Proposed Solutions.

Hasnain-Wynia and Baker: Health Services Research 41(4): 1501-1517, 2006

The Assessment and Documentation of Language and Communication Needs in Healthcare System: Current Practices and Future Directions for Coordinating Safe, Patient-Centred Care.

Nalion: Nursing Outlook 55: 311-317, 2007

Glossary of Terms Relating to Ethnicity and Race: For reflection and Debate

Bhopal: Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 58:441-445, 2004

User of Race and Ethnicity in Biomedical Publication.

Kaplan and Bennett 289: 2709 -2716, 2007

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