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Reception staff and patients use common language, gestures, written notes, and third-party interpretation by accompanying persons, while registration duration and communication deficits are systematically observed. Over four weeks, 60+ hours of observational data inform patient flow and coping strategies. Interview thematic analysis identifies professional experience, communication, and self-reflection. Findings emphasize the reception role in equitable access to healthcare and the need for tools, training, and institutional support.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":35,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/176-navigating-language-barriers-in-first-patient-staff-interactions-the-first-response-conference-abstract/448793/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/176-navigating-language-barriers-in-first-patient-staff-interactions-the-first-response-conference-abstract/448793.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Jordan Avery","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-31","2026-09-30",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",13,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What setting and participants does the study focus on?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"The study is conducted at an after-hours walk-in medical clinic in Leuven, Belgium. It focuses on first interactions between patients and healthcare facility front office/reception staff when patients speak neither Dutch nor French.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"Which communication strategies are observed during first interactions?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"Strategies include using a common language, gestures, written notes, and third-party interpretation by accompanying persons. Technological aids are also used to support communication.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"What is the key takeaway of the study’s conclusion?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"Reception staff play a critical, often overlooked role in ensuring equitable access to healthcare in linguistically diverse settings. The findings call for equipping front-desk personnel with appropriate tools, training, and institutional support for culturally and linguistically competent service delivery.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},448793,1791029042,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":34,"category_name":35,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":8,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":81,"preview_page_count":4},1099523882367,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_9964176cb1d06d4a9deccf72a44ae3dc","2nd World Congress on Migration, Ethnicity, Race & Health Abstract Book vi119  \nat an after-hours walk-in medical clinic in Leuven, Belgium systematically documenting instances where communication occurred through non-native languages. Observatory notes included frequency of cases of communication deficit due to language discordance, alternative communication strategies employed, and the duration of registration process. We focused on the communication strategies employed by both the patient and healthcare facility staff members to bridge linguistic gaps, including the use of common language, gestures, written notes, or third-party interpretation by accompanying persons.  \nResults: Over a four-week period, more than 60hours of observational data were collected, offering insights into patient flow, languages spoken, frequency of home visits, and strategies used to overcome communication difficulties. These included the use of accompanying persons, non-verbal gestures, and technological aids. Thematic analysis of the interviews revealed three key themes: professional experience, communication, and self-reflection. Communication emerged as a central concern for all interviewees, with language barriers reported as a daily challenge.  \nConclusion: This study highlights the critical yet often overlooked role of reception staff in ensuring equitable access to healthcare in linguistically diverse settings. The findings underscore the need to equip front-desk personnel with appropriate tools, training, and institutional support to enable culturally and linguistically competent service delivery at the first point of contact.  \nAbstract citation ID: ckaf180.329  \n176 Navigating Language Barriers in First Patient-Staff Interactions: the First Response  \nMohamed Irfan1, Antoon Cox2, Heidi Salaets2, Marc Sabbe3, Birgitte Schoenmakers1  \n1Academic Centre for General Practice, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium 2Translation Studies Research Unit, Antwerp Campus, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium 3Emergency Care – KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium  \nEP1.4, e-Poster Terminal 1, September 4, 2025, 11:35-13:00  \nRationale: Studies indicate that patient and non-provider interactions frequently occur prior to the patient’s actual encounter with healthcare providers, significantly influencing their overall comfort and perceptions of the service experience. Improving these initial exchanges can enhance overall healthcare accessibility, patient satisfaction, and clinical outcomes in medical settings.  \nAim: Effective communication is fundamental to patient care, yet language barriers remain a significant challenge in multilingual healthcare settings. Existing health services research on language barriers and communication challenges has predominantly focused on disparities related to health outcomes and patient-provider interactions. However, there is comparatively less understanding of nonprovider experiences, such as those involving patient registration systems and interactions with clinic administrative personnel (front office staff) . This study investigates first interactions between patients and healthcare facility staff (front office) when the patient speaks neither Dutch or French, the primary administrative languages in Belgium.  \nMethods: The research question formulated was “How do healthcare reception staff perceive their ability to assist patients who speak different languages, and what are the primary challenges they face in this context?” We conducted a structured observational field study","cbCaihXDzfWn4Gw7","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaihXDzfWn4Gw7","pdf",44892,"English","# Rationale\n# Aim\n# Methods\n# Results\n# Conclusion","[{\"question\":\"What setting and participants does the study focus on?\",\"answer\":\"The study is conducted at an after-hours walk-in medical clinic in Leuven, Belgium. It focuses on first interactions between patients and healthcare facility front office/reception staff when patients speak neither Dutch nor French.\"},{\"question\":\"Which communication strategies are observed during first interactions?\",\"answer\":\"Strategies include using a common language, gestures, written notes, and third-party interpretation by accompanying persons. Technological aids are also used to support communication.\"},{\"question\":\"What is the key takeaway of the study’s conclusion?\",\"answer\":\"Reception staff play a critical, often overlooked role in ensuring equitable access to healthcare in linguistically diverse settings. The findings call for equipping front-desk personnel with appropriate tools, training, and institutional support for culturally and linguistically competent service delivery.\"}]","176 Navigating Language Barriers in First Patient-Staff Interactions - the First Response - Conference abstract | PDF",1790728752]