According to the 2001 Canada Census:
41 % of newcomers to Canada speak neither English nor French.
4.7 Million people in Canada reported a mother tongue other than English or French, a 15.1 % increase from 1991
46 % of Toronto residents report a mother tongue other than English or French
Toronto has the highest proportion of foreign-born inhabitants of any city in the world. Over 100,000 new immigrants arrive in Toronto each Year
Research indicates that language barriers affect health outcomes for patients because of:
The recently completed research into the access to services by patient populations with limited proficiency in English and French in Ontario revealed that:
"Healthcare providers are reluctant to deal with LEP patients because of the extra time needed to overcome language barriers."
"In many cases, the outcome of a patient's condition is largely dependent on following the practitioner's care instructions at home. If the patient doesn't comply with the instructions, their health may be compromised. It goes without saying that if a patient doesn't understand the instructions in the first place, he or she won't be able to comply"
Using a friend or a family member as an interpreter does have its drawbacks: " These people typically have no medical training, which means that they often do not understand the practitioner's line of questioning. " Family and friends also try to minimize the patient's pain and discomfort, and as a result they try to supply answers instead of letting the patient speak.
From the findings of the HIN Sponsored Strengthening Access to Primary Health Care Research Project (2004):
"The error rate of untrained interpreters" (including family and friends) is sufficiently high as to make their use more dangerous in some circumstances than no interpreter at all. This is because it lends a false sense of security to both provider and client that accurate communication is actually taking place".