Speaking Up About Language Inclusivity in Healthcare by Jessica Chao

In this episode of Eat, Drink, and Do Good, entrepreneur Jessica Chao talks about language discrimination in our healthcare systems, the misguided assumptions that result from not having English alternatives, and what we can do about it.

Read Jessica's piece at www.studioatao.org/newsletter. Some additional reading on this topic recommended the author are:

• This article from STAT News explains more about bias in the healthcare system, especially on diagnosing and treating pain.

• Check out this article by Dr. Rhea Boyd for more about how structural racism and lack of access drive distrust in the medical field.

• Support and donate to grassroots efforts, such as federally qualified health centers like Charles B. Wang Health Center and La Clinica. These are both culturally sensitive community clinics working to increase access to multilingual health literacy information and provide care for the community, by the community.

• For those who work around the healthcare industry, push your organizations and investors to support more language inclusive solutions and to put forth substantial resources to support health equity. For example, the U.S. government has put forth a Language Access Plan for all healthcare service providers.

• The relationship between language barriers and healthcare outcomes in the US is still understudied. Encourage researchers in public health and academia to engage in this research, and support organizations like The Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education, for example, that are advancing this work.