Hendrika Meischke
University of Washington, WA·Public Health & Epidemiology
When someone who speaks little English calls 9-1-1, language barriers can delay help and lead to worse health outcomes. The United States has about 25 million people with limited English proficiency (LEP).
- Fields
Public Health & Epidemiology
Medicine & Clinical Research
Social Science
- Topics
limited English proficiency
language discordance
9-1-1 dispatch
- Grants
- 1 known grant, through May 2027
What they work on
- Identify which features of real 9-1-1 calls from limited English proficiency (LEP) callers are linked to over-the-phone interpreter (OPI) use, and how that use relates to communication and care outcomes.
- Analyze three-way communication patterns between dispatcher, caller and interpreter in Spanish, Mandarin and Cantonese 9-1-1 calls that used an over-the-phone interpreter.
- Determine which dispatcher traits predict whether, and how quickly, dispatchers connect an interpreter, using simulated emergency scenarios with Spanish- and Chinese-speaking mock callers.
- Turn the findings into training and policy recommendations with EMS and community stakeholders, using a participatory Delphi consensus technique.
More about the research
Compared with English speakers, LEP callers face more triage errors and slower ambulance dispatch. They are also less likely to receive or carry out the instructions dispatchers give before responders arrive. In hospitals, professional interpreters are the gold standard. In 9-1-1 dispatch, it is unclear when to bring in an over-the-phone interpreter (OPI), and using one too often, too rarely or too late may cause harm.
Why it matters
The findings could help 9-1-1 centers decide when and how fast to bring interpreters into emergency calls. This could reduce delays, triage errors and missed pre-arrival instructions for Spanish-, Mandarin- and Cantonese-speaking callers. The planned training and policy recommendations are aimed at dispatchers and EMS agencies serving the 25 million people in the U.S. with limited English proficiency.
Known grants
From NIH and NSF research grants. Labs often have other funding we can't see.
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The school
University of Washington: 81 labs on PI Pages, $1.7B a year on research, 694 research doctorates a year.
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