Bilingual communicators within the health care setting

The communication challenges posed by diversity in consumers and health wor kers prompted these researchers to seek information about how bilingual sta ff use their language skills in patient encounters. Content analysis, using the NUD.IST (Nonnumerical Unstructured Data Indexing, Searching, and Theor y-Building) program, of the transcripts from 18 focus groups (n = 81) has r esulted in new notions about bilingualism. Four types of bilingual workers were defined within the Bilingual Health Communication Model, based on leve l of fluency (no fluency to complex verbalizer) and the context of the inte raction (social engagement to complex health information transference). The se forms of communicators were found to be active and purposeful in languag e skill clusters, language exchange programs, and individual bilingual work er roles (direct caregiver, communication facilitator or consultant, and cu ltural advocate or broker). Implementing the systems and roles proposed mig ht transform the communication or indeed miscommunication patterns that are widespread in our health cave systems.