Research Suggests Non-English Speakers More Likely to Acquire HAIs

Data suggesting that health inequities are a factor in higher rates of certain kinds of infections will be presented today at the APIC annual conference in Phoenix.

Specifically, Kaiser Permanente will be presenting data showing that a patient whose first language is Spanish has a higher risk of getting an infection in the hospital. Indeed, all non-English speaking patients, “with or without the use of formal interpreter services,” have a higher risk of contracting an infection during their stay at a hospital.

Kaiser Permanente reviewed “a large data set of 6,813 publicly reported infections at 21 of their Northern California acute care hospitals from 2019 to 2023. Their infection prevention team found that Spanish-speaking adults, compared with patients whose first language is English, experienced higher rates of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI).”

The use of interpreters was also “linked to higher odds of acquiring infections such as CLABSI, CAUTI, and some SSI [surgical site infections]. But the use of family or friends for interpretation complicated the picture; the risk increased for all healthcare-associated infections (HAI).” The conclusion drawn from this research is that “more data is needed on health inequities to understand the underlying influences that language and cultural background play in this increased risk to guide future prevention efforts.”