The face of Missouri's population is changing. According to the 2005 census estimates, Missouri's foreign-born population is nearly 194,000, including the largest Bosnian-speaking population in the United States. This represents a 28 percent increase in the state's foreign-born population since 2000.

Because many of these individuals don't speak English, language barriers can obstruct access to health care. Compounding the problem is the limited number of interpreters trained for medical situations. This challenges health care providers to communicate effectively to people with limited English proficiency.

To respond to the growing cultural diversity of Missouri's patient population, the MHA Center for Education developed a Web-based service, HealthTranslations.com.

Features
HealthTranslations.com serves as a repository of translated materials specific to health care. HealthTranslations.com is unique because translated documents extend beyond the more common languages and dialects to the less common, such as Bosnian.

The following categories of documents have been translated in Arabic, Bosnian, Chinese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese and may be downloaded.

cancer diabetes emergency preparedness gastrointestinal disorder general patient education heart diseases

infectious disease maternal/child neurological disorder patient safety respiratory diseases surgery

The site also includes links to health information resources on a variety of topics in more than 40 languages.

Benefits to Patients and Health Care Providers
Because health care providers increasingly must provide language assistance for non-English speaking patients, the MHA Center for Education provides HealthTranslations.com free to our members and the public.

Numerous government agencies require health care providers to offer translation services to their patients. Because HealthTranslations.com is Web-based, changes to documents are made when state and federal regulations are revised. This contributes to a provider’s ability to give the same quality of care to all patients, regardless of their proficiency in English.

Also, patients benefit when they can read documents in addition to using an interpreter to translate. Translation experts note that patient understanding and clarity is increased when information is provided in written form. Individuals can read the form and ask the doctor questions through an interpreter.

Originally developed to host administrative documents, the site now provides patient education materials based on hospitals’ most frequently diagnosed conditions. Today, the site includes more than 650 translated documents and more than 70 resources.

HealthTranslations.com Partners
Launched in 2003, HealthTranslations.com was developed through a grant from Tenet Healthcare Foundation and Tenet St. Louis. Additional contributions include donated translation services from the Language Access Metro Project and guidance from the Immigrant, Refugee and Translation Health Care Services Steering Committee.

Initially, health care providers wishing to use the material specifically translated for this site were assessed a modest annual fee based on licensed bed size and type of facility. These subscription fees have allowed MHA to add more than 300 translated documents to the site during the past three years. As of January 2007, this site now is available free of charge. Future additions and the ongoing cost of maintenance will be funded by the MHA Center for Education.

For More Information
To learn more about HealthTranslations.com, please contact the following individuals.

Linda Shields
MHA health planning specialist
573/893-3700, ext. 1375
lshields@mail.mhanet.com

Leslie Porth, R.N., MPH
MHA vice president of health planning
573/893-3700, ext. 1305
lporth@mail.mhanet.com