The 2025 APIC Annual Conference revealed a disturbing disparity where Spanish-speaking patients bear a significantly increased risk of contracting healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) during hospital stays. Data from Kaiser Permanente of Northern California presented at the conference pointed to this troubling reality, persisting even with the provision of interpreter services. A comprehensive five-year review was conducted, monitoring infection data from 21 Northern California Kaiser Permanente hospitals from 2019 through 2023.
During this period, 6,813 cases of infections were recorded and meticulously analyzed to assess the connection between language barriers and infection risk. The analysis showed that Spanish-speaking patients, along with other non-English speakers, face increased rates of several serious infections. Cristine Lacerna discovered this issue while she was a senior regional director of infection prevention at Kaiser Permanente Northern California.
Worryingly, the study indicated an upsurge in the risk of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and catheter-associated urinary tract infections (CAUTI) among Spanish-speaking adults. Furthermore, surgical site infections (SSIs) experienced a rise among both adult and pediatric patients with limited English proficiency. This indicates that language barriers and communication difficulties might be considerable, yet overlooked factors enhancing infection vulnerability in hospitals.
The study also found that the routine usage of interpreters in hospitals, either professional or informal, coincided with a heightened infection risk. The data showed that patients not proficient in English faced a two-pronged risk, stemming from communication challenges and unaddressed systemic health care inequities. Currently, the elevated infection risk among non-English speaking patients signals gaps in infection control strategies and calls for a rethink of how preventive measures are applied across diverse patient demographics.
Ultimately, the goal is not only to understand the impact of the disparities but also to devise strategies for mitigation across all non-English speaking populations.