Serving Limited English Proficient Callers: A Survey of 9-1-1 Police Telecommunicators

Details

• Personal Author:
  Calhoun RE ; Carroll LN ; Meischke HW ; Painter IS ; Subido CC
• Description:
  Introduction: The emergency telephone number 9-1-1 serves as a lifeline to the public during emergencies, and first responders rely on information gathered by 9-1-1 telecommunicators who speak with callers. Timely, accurate information from the telecommunicators is essential for providing appropriate care on scene. Language barriers can hamper these efforts and result in less efficient information exchange. Although 9-1-1 telecommunicators may access over-the-phone interpreter (OPI) services to facilitate communication, managing three-way communication during an emergency is challenging. Problem: There is little published on the relationship between limited English proficient (LEP) callers and 9-1-1 police telecommunicators, and the role of OPI services during these calls. Further, little is known about effective strategies to manage such calls. Methods: In King County, Washington, 9-1-1 police telecommunicators were surveyed about their experiences handling LEP calls and managing three-way communication with OPI services. The survey contained 13 multiple-choice and three open-response questions addressing communication strategies, challenges with LEP callers, and three-way communication with OPI services. Goodman-Kruskal Gamma and chi-square tests were conducted with OPI use as the dependent variable. Additional analyses were conducted using stress levels as the dependent variable. Results: Of 123 respondents, 69 (56.5%) 9-1-1 telecommunicators reported utilizing OPI services at least 75% of the time when receiving a call from an LEP caller. Further, 35 (28.7%) of these telecommunicators reported calls with LEP individuals as more stressful than calls with fluent English speakers. Dispatcher stress level during LEP calls compared with stress during calls with fluent English speakers was positively associated with use of OPI services (P < .01). Further, stress level was also positively associated with telecommunicator difficulties in assessing the situation with respect to officer safety (P < .01). Sixty-three (58.3%) of the telecommunicators described difficulties assessing the situation to determine the appropriate response as the biggest challenge with LEP callers. Additionally, 62 (53%) identified knowing their location in English as information LEP callers need to know prior to calling 9-1-1. Conclusion: These results highlight intervention opportunities for both 9-1-1 telecommunicators and LEP communities. Together, interventions such as working with LEP communities to educate them on best communication practices during 9-1-1 calls, and with 9-1-1 telecommunicators to help them manage three-way communication and reduce stress associated with concern for officer safety may improve emergency communication during 9-1-1 calls. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Law Enforcement Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Emergency Communication Communication Workers Emergency Responders English Proficiency First Responders Language Barrier Language Proficiency Occupational Stress Police Officer Police Officers Telephone Operators

  More +
• ISSN:
  1049-023X
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  286-297
• Volume:
  28
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056172
• Citation:
  Prehosp Disast Med 2013 Jun; 28(3):286-297
• Contact Point Address:
  Lauren N. Carroll, MS Department of Health Services Northwest Center for Public Health Practice University of Washington 1107 NE 45th St., Suite 400 Seattle, WA 98105 USA
• Email:
  lncarr@uw.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2013
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:5e5fd9d00cb517bd0a5cc92b74bf5441eb525f68d0e0090c437c355340e0817721a1b96984183b3b7d2a5e40712fb03979fb98a610d59e3da07613f504bd104b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/213828/cdc_213828_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 135.55 KB ]