Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

Parents with limited English proficiency might rely on their adolescent children to interpret health information. We call this adolescent healthcare brokering. Using a mixed-methods, transformative research approach rooted in grounded theory, we sought to answer these questions: (a) “What is happening? What are people doing?” and (b) “What do these stories indicate? What might they suggest about social justice?” High school students from a community in which 53.4% speak another language at home were invited to participate in a survey and focus groups. Of 238 survey participants, 57.5% (n=137) indicated they assisted with healthcare tasks. When doing so, 81.7% (n=112) translated. Common tasks were reading prescriptions and talking to doctors. While some participants cited negative emotions associated with brokering, the net emotion was positive. Focus groups (n=11) revealed that tasks varied broadly in complexity and type, emotional experiences were dichotomous, and access to interpreting services and other supports was inconsistent.

Version

The article available for download here is not the published version of record. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com via the DOI below.

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0312-5

Publication Title

Journal of Community Health

Volume Number

86

Issue Number

12

First Page

898

Last Page

904

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