“The United States continues to be a magnet for immigrants from around the world. Data from the most recent Current Population Survey show that more than 28 million Americans are foreign-born, up from 9.6 million in 1970, and that over 44 million Americans speak a language other than English at home. In all, over 300 different languages are spoken in this country. While many immigrants have traditionally settled in major urban areas, a substantial number now also live in suburban and rural areas throughout the country. Many recent immigrants have limited proficiency in English, which presents challenges for health care provision around the nation. Numerous studies have found that inadequate language services can negatively affect access to and quality of health care and may lead to serious health consequences. Not surprisingly, the recent influx of immigrants has brought with it a growing demand for appropriate and effective language services. A number of factors hinder such services, however, including an increase in the number of languages spoken, costs associated with providing such services, lack of knowledge on the part of heath care providers of legal requirements for providing language services, and lax enforcement of federal and state laws, which has allowed many health care providers to neglect the issue.” – Publisher’s description
