What is uCareLINGO?

Communication is a crucial consideration in healthcare. Both patients and health care providers need to be able to understand each other. This aids in accurately diagnosing and treating a person, as well as adding to their comfort and security in knowing that they are in good hands.

This blog presents information about uCareLINGO, an application (app) designed to improve communication between patients and nurses and other health care providers. Discussion focuses on the benefits of communicating with seniors and patients in their own language, and how doing so can positively affect health outcomes.

The uCareLINGO Mission is to equip health care professionals with the modern technology to make providing care seamless and easy. There are three audiences that benefit from our unique app including:

• Health professionals including nurses, physiotherapists, respiratory therapist, physicians, and midlevel providers.
• Healthcare institutions that purchase an enterprise license, including nursing homes, home care agencies, hospitals, and rehabilitation facilities.
• Families of those in need of bedside and home care solutions.

Communication Barriers Perceived by Nurses and Patients

As a health care professional, you want to be able to know what symptoms a person is experiencing and the concerns they have about their health. Your practitioner role may be as a nurse, physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, therapist, counselor, or another central to health care provision.

Communication barriers are varied, including hearing and visual changes or limitations, dementia and mental health concerns, as well as misunderstanding of information. Use of plain language can help reduce miscommunication by improving a patient’s understanding of the information you share.

You’re aware of the importance of clear communication and the potential hazards of miscommunication that occur because of these and other communication barriers. These can include:

• A patient misunderstanding their medication and its management.
• Inaccurate test results occurring because a person did not understand directions to prepare for lab work, x-rays, and other important exams.
• Differences in family and patient reporting due to communication issues.
• A patient making important health decisions without all of the information they need or having misinformation from other sources.
• Patients and family members having difficulties navigating healthcare systems because of communication issues. This further complicates or delays access to necessary care in a timely manner.

Communicating with Patients and Seniors in Their Own/Primary Language

When you communicate with patients and seniors in their primary or preferred language, both of you are more likely to have improved satisfaction with the experience. Certainly, your being able to communicate, even at a basic level, results in:

• Your patient feeling respected, leading to increased trust in the care you provide.
• A person’s improved ability to best describe what they’re experiencing, doing so without the challenges of ‘translating’ that into English.
• Heightened awareness of how language barriers can be addressed, thereby resulting in improved patient care.
• More effective communication becomes more possible with people who are experiencing dementia and various states of confusion.
• Less reliance on ad hoc interpreters on which so many rely as there are not enough trained interpreters.
• Being able to have improved communication with your patient when most necessary, be it immediately in an emergency situation, or in the middle of the night or a busy shift.

How Communication Barriers Negatively Affect Health Inequities and Outcomes & What to Do About It

People who communicate most effectively in their primary language are more likely to experience health inequities that often begin with limited or delayed access to care. This is often related to economic barriers that limit accessing or being able to pay for primary care. Sadly, this results in:

• Reduced use of preventive health care services.
• Delayed diagnosis and treatment.
• Limited ability to make informed decisions.

These points and others are addressed by a research team concerned about healthcare as part of resettlement for immigrants now living in Canada. It is worthwhile noting that these concerns apply as well to immigrants who have moved to other countries. The team points out that there are multiple communication barriers, a number of which are at a systems level, such as:

• Interpreter services that are not part of health policies in various provinces.
• The need for healthcare providers to rely on family members and friends to interpret in the absence of professional interpretation services.

Added to these concerns, the authors point out that immigrants are also adjusting to the variations between the health systems in their country of origin and Canada. Plus, they come with health belief and customs that may be misunderstood due to language barriers.

Steps for Connecting Seniors with Their Linguistic & Cultural Roots

When seniors and newly resettled patients can connect with you as their healthcare provider using their primary language, this also helps with accessing their cultural roots. This in turn links to beliefs and practices that affect health care decisions. This certainly brings to mind the immediacy of how to improve communication despite the challenges just noted.

Enter uCareLINGO! This is a care-based voice translation application (app) developed in Canada and designed to break down language barriers between you, the health care provider, and your patients. The app supports you in learning more about each person’s needs, thus reducing delays in care while offering patients and their family members peace of mind. It has a number of features that aid in streamlining communication in at least 17 different languages, with more to be added. It enables you to:

• Have a free-flowing conversation with patients, allowing each of you to communicate in your primary language.
• Take part in people receiving health care from someone whom they trust because they feel they are understood and valued.
• Use downloadable posters to communicate with patients. These are very helpful in a variety of care settings, including the hospital, a long-term care facility, or in the home.
• Voice-to-voice translation with each of you using your primary language.
• Easily conduct a quick verbal screening for Covid-19 symptoms.
• Converse about activities of daily living in 17 languages, helping to reduce confusing communication.
• Use the community check-in option, something useful for nurses and social workers who provide community care.
• Pause during your busy day to access the Relaxation portion of the app, specifically designed for your well-being.

The good news is uCareLINGO can be downloaded at the app store where you can also read more about this refined app designed for health care providers like you. You can also request more information by visiting us at: https://ucarelingo.com/