STANDARDIZATION, TRANSPARENCY, AND QUALITY IMPROVEMENT: AN ARGUMENT FOR LANGUAGE ACCESS PLANS IN LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS

Abstract

Over the course of this paper, I strive to develop an argument for the implementation of language access plans (LAPs) in local health departments. LAPs dictate how an entity will serve its clients with limited English proficiency (LEP) and are already widely used in federal agencies, the justice system, and the healthcare industry. The values which make LAPs vital in these fields apply to local health departments as well, which should be striving to improve health equity by better serving their LEP constituents. Language access is a vital public health service, important to eliminating health disparities among LEP populations. In response to this problem, LAPs are proposed as a viable and necessary solution to combat current deficiencies in language access at the local health department level. LAPs eliminate these deficiencies by addressing three central values for the success of language access services: standardization, transparency, and quality improvement. By exploring the LAPs of several selected peer jurisdictions and identifying barriers to implementation, this paper aims to help local health departments identify the next steps needed to implement these plans and better serve their constituents. A sample LAP has been developed for Pima County Health Department, which is included as an appendix.