Peer-reviewed article
Understanding how language barriers in the paediatric emergency care setting influences safety of care delivery: a scoping review.
Odedra R, Averill P, Nijman RG, Wiemker V, Hariharan B et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This scoping review examined how language barriers affect the safety of care for children in emergency departments. Researchers reviewed 33 studies and found that language barriers create risks at multiple points in emergency care, with discharge and follow-up care being particularly vulnerable moments. Most interventions studied focused on improving access to professional interpreters and their documentation. The review identifies that better communication about follow-up care and home advice is needed to keep children safe.
Key points
- Language barriers influence safety at multiple stages of the emergency care pathway
- Discharge communication and follow-up coordination are the most frequently reported points of safety risk
- Existing interventions focus primarily on usage, uptake and documentation of professional interpreter services
- Medical safety netting and home-care advice are identified as priority areas for intervention
- Future research should explore whether technology-enabled tools including artificial intelligence can safely mitigate language barriers
Limitations
This is a scoping review that maps existing research rather than conducting new studies, so it cannot determine the true prevalence or magnitude of safety risks from language barriers. The review identifies what interventions exist but does not provide detailed effectiveness evidence for most of them.
Abstract
Background Communication in a family's primary language can support safe care. Vital steps within the care delivery process are contingent on successful communication, including reporting symptoms, clinical decision-making, informed consent, discharge communication and follow-up coordination. The importance of effective information exchange is particularly pronounced in paediatric emergency care, and complex interactions may arise as parents or carers advocate on behalf of children. This scoping review aimed to identify and map existing research indicating where along the care journey communication-related risks for safety lie during paediatric emergency care and what strategies exist to mitigate them. Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane Library for studies which examined the influence of language barriers on patient safety in paediatric emergency care as well as studies that evaluated interventions. Bibliographic database searches were executed on 18 December 2024; retrieved records were independently screened by two authors at title and abstract level followed by full text level. Data on study objectives, population characteristics, study design and their key findings were extracted. Results 1578 articles were identified, of which 33 were included and mapped according to (i) studies reporting safety risks linked to language barriers in paediatric emergency care (n=24) and (ii) existing interventions designed to mitigate these risks (n=9). Studies highlighted that language barriers can influence safety at multiple stages of the emergency care pathway, with discharge most frequently reported as a point of risk for paediatric patient safety. Interventions focused primarily on usage, uptake and documentation of professional interpreter services. Conclusion Addressing misunderstandings around follow-up and home-care advice during medical safety netting are priority areas for intervention. Future research should involve carer and clinical perspectives in exploring whether technology-enabled tools, including artificial intelligence, can safely mitigate language barriers in these situations.