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Race, Ethnicity, and Language Data: Standardization for Health Care Quality Improvement

Table 4-1: Summary of Question Types and Categories

Table of Contents

Question Type	Question Examples / Categories
English Proficiency	Question Examples: How would you rate your ability to speak and understand English? (Hasnain-Wynia et al., 2007) How well do you speak English? (Karliner et al., 2008) Categories: Very well Well Not well Not at all (Shin and Bruno, 2003)
Spoken Language	Question Examples: What language do you feel most comfortable speaking with your doctor or nurse? (Hasnain-Wynia et al., 2007) In what language do you prefer to receive your medical care? (Cambridge Health Alliance in RWJF, 2008b; Karliner et al., 2008) What language do you want us to speak to you in? (California Healthy Families, 2008a) What language do you prefer to speak when you come to the medical center? What language do you feel most comfortable speaking? (Tang, 2009) Categories: Names of specific languages in use in the United States, approximately 600 categories Plus: Other, please specify:____ Sign language(s)
Language Spoken at Home	Question Examples: What language do you speak at home? (Shin and Bruno, 2003) What language(s) do you usually speak at home? (NCHS, 2009) What is the primary language spoken at home? (Cambridge Health Alliance in RWJF, 2008b) Categories: Names of specific languages in use in the United States Census denominator available for many but not all languages
Written Language	Question Examples: In which language would you feel most comfortable reading medical or healthcare instructions? (Hasnain-Wynia et al., 2007) What language should we write to you in? (California Healthy Families, 2008a) What is your preferred written language?^a In what language do you prefer to read health-related materials? (Cambridge Health Alliance in RWJF, 2008b) What language do you prefer for written materials? (Tang, 2009) Categories: Names of specific languages in use in the United States Braille Mandated: Threshold language categories may be required by law and applicable to an entity in different states

^a Health Care Language Assistance Act of 2003, California S.B. 853 § 1367 (October 8, 2003).

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Page last reviewed May 2018

Page originally created September 2012

Internet Citation: Table 4-1: Summary of Question Types and Categories. Content last reviewed May 2018. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.
https://www.ahrq.gov/research/findings/final-reports/iomracereport/reldata4tab4-1.html