Survey for Pharmacy Services and Resources Available to Help Meet the Needs of LEP Patients.

If you are a pharmacist, pharmacy technician, or work in a pharmacy setting, you are invited to participate in an important research project sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) http://www.aacp.org and the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA) http://www.naspa.us with funding from the National Health Law Program (NHeLP) http://www.healthlaw.org

This survey is collecting data from pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and others who work in pharmacy settings regarding educational materials and programs designed to help meet the needs of limited English proficient (LEP) patients.

This study is being conducted by Priti N. Patel, PharmD, BCPS and Emily M. Ambizas, PharmD of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy Practice at St. John's University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions.

The deadline to complete the online survey is Friday, August 1, 2008.

To complete the survey, please click on the following link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2bvI8zyHqGfcTMpfIcxc3UA_3d_3d

Are you involved in the planning, purchase, or delivery of cultural competence training?

The Cross Cultural Health Care Program (http://www.xculture.org/Publications.php ) is asking for input from health care organizations that deliver or purchase cultural competence training for their staff.

Please click the link below to take the short online survey. https://catalysttools.washington.edu/webq/survey/anneh3/57138

Please note that respondent information will be kept confidential, responses will be de-identified, and results will be utilized to inform the discussions to be held on this topic at the Quality Health Care for Culturally Diverse Populations conference in September 2008.

Survey authors: Julia Puebla Fortier, Director, Resources for Cross Cultural Health Care and Anne Turner, Research Librarian, The Cross Cultural Health Care Program

Groups are finding culturally sensitive ways to give healthcare advice to clients with different values and traditions.

By My-thuan Tran, Los Angeles Times

When Planned Parenthood representatives began handing out free condoms during an initial information session with recent Vietnamese immigrants in Orange County last year, a hush fell over the room.

Those who took one quietly whispered, in Vietnamese, that they were for friends. Some called the representative the "candy lady." And the word "condoms" itself seemed embarrassing, so they called the handouts "raincoats."

It was a lesson in how easily the American style of teaching things like safe sex and healthful eating can run roughshod over cultural sensibilities.

From that first meeting, officials from Planned Parenthood in Orange and San Bernardino counties decided that "we don't want to necessarily blast them with the word 'condoms,' " said spokeswoman Stephanie Kight.

"In the Mission Viejo High School, we might say something like, 'Free condoms!' but we might want to find a more nuanced way to talk about it in the Vietnamese community."

Read the rest of this Los Angeles Times story here

Save The Date and Call For Abstracts Due August 15th

Join the NIH Institutes, Centers, Offices, and their many partners engaged in research on minority health and health disparities to:

• Highlight the research progress of the NIH on health issues among racial/ethnic minority and medically underserved populations
• Increase awareness and understanding of disparities in health
• Showcase best-practice models in research, capacity-building, outreach, and integrated strategies to eliminate health disparities
• Identify strengths and gaps in health disparities research
• Network and dialogue with the nationšs leading experts on minority health and health disparities

The call for abstracts is available at http://www.blsmeetings.net/2008healthdisparitiessummit/abstracts.cfm

A pre-Summit NIH grant writing workshop is scheduled for December 15: http://www.blsmeetings.net/2008healthdisparitiessummit/NIH.pdf

Language LineŽ University is offering IMIA conference members and attendees interpreter testing.

The educational division of Language Line Services, the largest provider of over-the-phone interpreting, offers you the following tests:

• Language Proficiency Test
• English Proficiency Test
• Interpreter Skills Test
• Medical Certification Test

Pre-Register and take your test at the conference.

When you pre-register, you may schedule a test time during conference hours.

Testing availability at the conference is limited, however, so sign up today.

Or take tests after the conference in the convenience of your own home (tests are all conducted over the phone).

Either way, visit Language Line Services' conference booth where you can see a brief sample of each of our tests or obtain additional information about our interpreter tests and training.

See Descriptions of Our Tests and Training here

Register for the Conference here

Each month you'll receive our free monthly email newsletter featuring news, tips, interviews, surveys, stats, special offers and other useful information to help you better serve your limited English-speaking patients.

If you enjoyed this issue, share it with your colleagues and friends. Just ask them to send us a subscription request to healthletter@languageline.com or visit our website.

Your information will never be shared with anyone, ever! See our Privacy Policy here.