RESOURCES

This is a sampling of the many tools developed by Kaiser Permanente for use in the HCI Certificate Program. Please feel free to download and use these materials, and check back as more materials are added in the coming months.

 

Trilingual Reference Manual   

Health care interpreting requires a complex and intricate set of skills and has become recognized as a professional service by the industry. As an integral member of the health care team, the interpreter facilitates linguistic and cultural understanding among patient, clinician, and the health care system at large. Health care interpreting services are key to assuming optimal care for limited-English proficient (LEP) or non-English Proficient (NEP) patients.

Trilingual Reference Manuals (TRM) were designed as a comprehensive reference tool for interpreters, physicians and other health care providers. It also includes annotated anatomical drawings and commonly used terminology. Produced originally in hard copies, TRMs are now available online.

 

Diversity Deck of Cards

This set of cards contains answers to some frequently asked Diversity questions and can be used as a fun Diversity awareness/education tool regarding such topics as: 1) General definition of Diversity, 2) Health Care Interpreter Training, 3) Qualified Bilingual Staff Model, 4) Tips for utilizing trained/untrained health care interpreters, 5) Tips for communicating with the Hard of Hearing and Deaf Community, 6) Case Studies, 7) Quick Quizzes, and 8) description of CLAS (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services) standards.

 

Provider’s Handbooks on Culturally Competent Care

Kaiser Permanente's National Diversity department publishes a series of Provider’s Handbooks that offers overviews of diverse population groups comprising our membership. In high demand since their first editions, the Provider Handbook Series features information on the African American population, the Asian and Pacific Islander populations, Individuals with Disabilities, the Latino population, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender populations, People with Hearing Loss, and Women’s Health.

Each handbook details characteristics that may affect the health status and health care utilization of culturally diverse populations, including demographic information, risk factors, major diseases and conditions, health behaviors and beliefs, and specific areas of clinical focus. Suggestions for application of cross-cultural clinical knowledge are highlighted throughout the handbooks. In providing general background information on population groups, Provider’s Handbooks enhance Kaiser Permanente clinicians’ abilities to increase their cultural sensitivity and knowledge regarding our diverse membership.

 

Multilingual Idiom & Phrase Glossaries (HCI Student Project)

These glossaries were created by HCI students at the City College of San Francisco as part of their course work.

Teams of students, working in their target languages, produced these translations. While we hope the glossaries are informative and useful, they are, of course, student projects and should not be relied on as authoritative translations.