Hospitals, Language, and Culture: A Snapshot of the Nation

The Joint Commission’s Hospitals, Language, and Culture (HLC): A Snapshot of the Nation is a three year cross-sectional qualitative study funded by The California Endowment designed to explore how 60 hospitals across the country provide health care to culturally and linguistically diverse patient populations.

The HLC study has issued a new research report, One Size Does Not Fit All: Meeting the Health Care Needs of Diverse Populations. This report provides a framework to help organizations meet the challenges of providing safe, quality care to culturally and/or linguistically diverse patients. Though the report is based on the findings from an in-depth study of hospitals, all types of health care organizations can use this framework to take an in-depth look at their current practices and guide efforts to address the cultural and language needs of the populations they serve. (Executive Summary)

The first report released by the Hospitals, Language, and Culture study presents the challenges hospitals face when providing care and services to culturally and linguistically diverse populations, and discusses the way hospitals are addressing those challenges.

To find out more about this research visit the Hospitals, Language, and Culture (HLC) website.

(from the HLC website)