Language barriers between patients and doctors impact care. And recently, five UCF medical students presented research at a national conference on how to improve outcomes for patients whose first language is not English, from fractures to cancer.
The students shared their research at the National Latino Medical Student Conference held at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. The event brought together more than 1,000 medical and master's degree students, physicians, and other health care professionals dedicated to improving the health of America's fastest-growing ethnic population.
Sophomores Christian Guerrero and Isabella Futuro de Lima based their research on their experiences caring for patients at the student-run Knights (Keeping Our Neighbors Healthy Through Service) clinic at Grace Medical Home in Orlando. The clinic provides treatment to Orlando's uninsured residents.
The students investigated knowledge of cervical cancer screening guidelines among Knights patients whose primary languages are English, Spanish, and Portuguese, and examined whether there are disparities in health literacy based on patients' English fluency. I looked into it. The results showed that 100% of English- and Portuguese-speaking patients answered correctly, compared to 50% of Spanish-speaking patients. This difference was particularly concerning because Spanish speakers expressed confidence in their knowledge of cancer screening before participating in the study.
Based on their research, the students hope to create patient education materials in Spanish. We hope this will help KNIGHTS patients feel more in control of their health.
“Living in Florida and being from Florida, I know that a lot of the people I'm going to interact with are going to be bilingual, primarily Spanish-speaking, or people who speak English as a second language,” Guerrero said. he says. “As a result, I am even more motivated and motivated to hone my medical Spanish while maintaining a curious mindset towards my patients. This allows me to get a full picture of why they feel the way they do and You can obtain information that may be important for your care.
Tracy McIntosh, associate dean for access, belonging and community engagement, said student research like this advances healthcare for all.
“Our students understand that health care disparities exist for far too many patients,” she says. “And many students are choosing research projects that help close these quality and outcome gaps and ensure that all members of society receive the highest quality of care.”
Below is a summary of other research topics presented by UCF medical students.
Pascal Escobar studied femoral fractures, focusing in particular on “nonunion,” a condition in which the bone does not heal properly after surgery. He investigated how factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, and smoking can increase the risk of poor healing. He said his research was motivated by the increasing incidence of femur fractures in older adults, which can severely impact their quality of life through pain, loss of mobility and psychological stress. He said there is. Her research found that smokers, men, and people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were more likely to experience complications, while blacks and Hispanics were more likely to experience limited access to quality health care and economic hardship. It was found that the results were often worse. Identifying these at-risk groups can help healthcare providers better identify patients who are likely to face complications after a femoral fracture and provide more personalized care and follow-up treatment. Escobar hopes that will happen.
Joel Hernandez investigated the need for better health literacy interventions among Spanish speakers in the United States. After reviewing 2,823 studies from community and clinical settings, we found that only 62 reflected the demographics of the communities they actually served. Many of the studies excluded Spanish speakers, especially men, older adults, and children, which showed a higher risk of bias. Her research showed that face-to-face and multimedia interventions were more active in improving health literacy among Spanish speakers, but health care providers and policy makers have We also found that there is no consensus on the best strategy or tool to use to determine. Hernandez said his experience learning English and translating for his parents inspired his research.
Dr. Noah DeFors spent 20 years studying the risk of Candida, a dangerous and invasive fungal infection, in more than 16,800 children who had undergone stem cell transplants. The study found that 1 in 14 children develops this infection. This infection has a severe impact on children with weakened immune systems and can cause heart attacks, the need for mechanical ventilation or dialysis, and acute graft-versus-host disease. This infection is common in teenage boys and people who receive transplants using umbilical cord blood. Despite medical advances, morbidity and mortality associated with Candida infections among stem cell transplant recipients from 1997 to 2016 remained unchanged. DeFores said she wants to be able to better understand and identify trends and high-risk patients so that medical teams can prioritize prevention and early treatment.
