Reaching Linguistically Isolated People: Findings from a Telephone Survey Using Real-time Interpreters

Abstract

We can no longer ignore nonresponse rates in telephone surveys because of a language barrier (i.e., people who could not speak either English or Spanish) and the corresponding potential for bias in estimates from surveys that involve only English- or Spanish-speaking respondents. Building on a few published studies focusing on this problem, a pilot study was conducted in California as part of the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), the world’s largest ongoing public health telephone survey. The aim of this follow-up study is to evaluate the effectiveness of conducting BRFSS interviews of non-English- and non-Spanish-speaking respondents via real-time interpreters. One hundred and ninety-five people identified as having a language barrier in the 2006 California BRFSS were interviewed with the assistance of on-phone interpreters. The use of real-time interpreters increased the number of completed interviews among Asian respondents in the California BRFSS from 262 to 400 and allowed a more reliable examination of key health conditions and behavioral risk factors among Asian Americans. In addition, the study reached persons with demographic profiles different from those typically interviewed in English or Spanish. The methodology used in this study might be an effective tool for telephone survey researchers to consider using to reach linguistically isolated respondents.

Keywords

BRFSS RDD language barrier minority interpreter

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