Table 1 Survey results

Gender

Male

83

9

27

28

19

Female

23

0

6

17

0

Age

< 20

3

0

0

1

2

20–30

76

1

19

39

17

31–40

23

5

13

5

0

> 40

3

3

0

0

0

Time in clinical practice

< 4 years

63

2

13

32

16

5–9 years

37

3

20

11

3

> 9 years

6

4

0

2

0

Percent of clinical practice time in EDs

< 25%

6

0

2

3

1

26–50%

34

2

6

18

8

51–75%

40

4

16

13

7

> 76%

26

3

9

11

3

Training in communication?

Yes

74

7

18

33

16

No

27

2

13

10

2

Current work hours per week

< 40

9

2

6

1

40–80

87

7

29

37

14

> 80

6

0

2

1

3

Do you explain diagnoses to the patient or family?

No

18

0

15

3

Yes

84

9

31

29

15

How many languages do you speak?

1

0

0

0

0

0

2

12

1

1

7

3

3

35

2

11

15

7

4

32

3

12

13

4

5

22

3

6

9

4

6

5

0

3

1

1

Are you fluent in English?

No

19

0

0

12

7

Yes

86

9

33

32

12

If yes, in which of the following ways are you fluent?

Yes spoken

71

8

33

19

11

Yes reading

75

9

31

17

8

Yes writing

67

7

29

27

6

Are you fluent in the language spoken by the majority of patients?

No

10

0

3

6

1

Yes

95

9

30

38

18

If yes, in which of the following ways are you fluent?

Yes spoken

86

7

30

32

17

Yes reading

64

4

24

25

12

Yes writing

59

4

21

22

12

What language do you speak most of the time with your fellow providers in the Emergency Department?

English

28

6

13

9

Malayalam

61

2

9

32

18

Hindi

3

3

Kannada

5

1

1

3

Tamil

2

2

Other

4

3

1

During which of the following instances do you think communication can be a problem?

Triage

38

2

9

17

10

Patient interview

43

5

14

16

8

Handoff

18

8

8

2

ED physician-consultant interaction

17

2

11

4

Physician-nurse interaction

15

2

8

4

1

Supervisor-trainee interaction

6

2

3

1

Physician-paramedic interaction

4

2

2

Are you aware of any critical incidents in the past 12 months in the Emergency Department where you work in which poor communication played a part?

No

46

3

6

26

11

Yes 1

26

3

12

8

3

Yes 2–5

26

3

11

9

3

Yes > 5

4

0

2

1

1

Which of the following barriers may have played a role in that poor communication?

Language

30

4

10

14

2

Noise

15

0

6

8

1

Pt volume

25

2

13

4

6

Time constraints

32

5

11

12

4

Role identification

13

3

5

4

1

Long working hours

23

1

12

9

1

Difference in knowledge

28

5

15

6

2

Do these long working hours affect your ability to communicate effectively?

Always

23

1

8

1

2

Sometimes

56

5

18

25

8

Rarely

9

1

4

3

1

Never

14

2

1

1

7

When you explain English medical knowledge to patients in a different spoken language, do you think that information is lost or changed?

Always

7

1

1

2

3

Sometimes

61

6

22

24

9

Rarely

22

1

6

12

3

Never

12

1

2

6

3