Developments in Health Sciences

A review of patient safety communication in multicultural and multilingual healthcare settings with special attention to the U.S. and Canada

Agnes Horvath; Peter Molnar — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Purpose: The present work aims to raise awareness of the issue of patient safety communication in multicultural and multilingual healthcare settings, and to present the policies and measures the United States and Canada have implemented to reduce the risk of miscommunication, prevent inequalities and disparities, and provide their patients with safe and quality care.

Methods: The literature review was conducted on academic works and on publications by health associations, institutes of health, and government.

Discussion: Cultural diversity in a patient population, language barriers, and a lack of effective communication can impose an increased threat on an individual’s health. In order to radically decrease the incidence of adverse events, policies and systems on how to manage multinational and multilingual medical environments should be created at a national level. Cultural competence is also key to delivering care that meets patients’ social and cultural needs; furthermore, developing a language access plan and providing language assistance (interpretation, translation) for those in need can greatly contribute to providing quality care.

Conclusions: Clear communication is key to quality care and patient safety, but to significantly reduce the incidence of adverse events, policies and systems should be created at a national level.

The application of Salutogenesis to Teaching and Learning - a Systematic Review

Olney Rodrigues de Oliveira; Enikő Kiss — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 00:00:00 +0200

Introduction: The inclusion of salutogenic principles in education deepens and broadens the understanding of teaching and learning process in a healthy way. The aim of this review is to fill the lack of comprehensive information regarding the relationship of salutogenesis, sense of coherence and the process of teaching and learning.

Methods: A literature search was carried out in Web of Science and Scopus with the cutoff date of July 2020. 62 articles were found on the relationship of salutogenesis, sense of coherence and education but only 6 were related to salutogenic teaching/learning process. These were included in the present review.

Results: The above studies evidenced salutogenic models related to teaching literacy as a learning process through life, building sustainable relationship between supervisor and students, improve transcultural competence and the ability to solve conflicts. Practical implications were demonstrated such as use of drawing as an integration tool to improve self-expression, realization of teaching practice as an exercise for self-consciousness and introducing the concept of teacher as a source of emotional security for students.

Conclusion: The models bring different but equally valuable contribution to the salutogenic teaching process which strengthens the educational environments resulting in better academic performance, physical and mental health.