The Multilingual Health Resources Exchange

A Way to Share Translated Health Education Materials

What is the Multilingual Health Resources Exchange?

The Multiligual Health Resources Exchange is an exciting collaboration among more than a dozen health care organizations in Minnesota, all of them interested in health care for the foreign-born patient. Representatives of these organizations (listed below) are exploring ways to share the responsibility and cost of creating and distributing health education materials for non-English speaking patients.

Who Is Involved in the Exchange?

Groups represented in Exchange meetings to date include: Allina Hospitals and Clinics; Anoka County Community Health Department; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association); Children’s Hospitals & Clinics; Community University Health Care Clinic; Dakota County Public Health Department; Fairview Health Services; HealthEast Care System; HealthPartners; Medica; Metropolitan Health Plan; Park Nicollet Health Services; Hennepin County Medical Center; Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; Minnesota Department of Health; Neighborhood Health Care Network; North Memorial Health Care; Ottertail County Community Health Department; Ridgeview Medical Center; Regions Hospital; and UCare Minnesota.

Why Is the Multilingual Health Resources Exchange Needed?

As Minnesota’s population diversifies, so do the information needs of health care consumers. Under U.S. civil rights law, patients who do not speak or read English are entitled to health information in their primary language. Production and distribution of materials in the more than 50 languages now spoken in Minnesota represents a significant expense, as well as a technical challenge for any one health plan or facility.

What Are the Goals of the Exchange?

The group has been meeting since May, 2001, to discuss the issue of health education in languages other than English. The group’s goals are:

·         to share information about translated materials currently available that have been developed in Minnesota and nationwide;

·         to share health education approaches that work for patients whose first language is not English;

·        to develop a clearinghouse for translated written, audio and video health education resources; and

·         to jointly create new materials in multiple languages.

What Has Been Done to Date?

In early meetings, group participants shared information about the availability of health education materials produced by their respective agencies. Participants agreed that a central clearinghouse of these resources, which could be accessed by collaborating organizations, would be useful and cost-effective. In addition, participants are committed to jointly developing new translated materials. The estimated cost for start-up of the Exchange clearinghouse for one year is $80,500.

How Will the Exchange Work?

The Exchange’s website will provide centralized access to detailed information about audiovisual materials in various languages, and easy links to other national sources of information about translated health education materials. It will also feature an on-line database of materials, accessible only to Exchange members. The Center for Cross-Cultural Health, a local clearinghouse of information on culture and health, will house the Exchange’s website. In monthly meetings, Exchange members will review existing materials and prioritize needs for new ones. Each year, the Exchange will produce new printed pieces to add to the database, based on language and topic priorities.

How Do Organizations Join the Exchange?

Member organizations will join the Exchange by paying an annual fee of $3,500, and by contributing three or more of their own translated print materials for inclusion on the Exchange website, in downloadable PDF format. After joining, members will have free access to all print materials contributed by other members. These materials may be used as is, or may be reformatted to fit the member’s needs, with permission from the originating organization.

Who Benefits From the Exchange?

Ultimately, of course, non-English speaking patients served by Exchange members will benefit from the wider availability and distribution of health education materials in their own languages.  Exchange member organizations will reap significant cost-savings from participation, by sharing the cost of production and distribution of high-quality translated health education materials. For the cost of producing just two or three brochures themselves, member organizations will have access to over 100 translated materials in the first year of Exchange operations, and an increasing number with each successive year. In addition, Exchange members will be able to inform one another about audiovisual and other materials they have developed for sale. In monthly meetings, Exchange members will share insights and best practices in the development of health education materials for foreign-born patients. Current research will be reviewed to ensure that new materials developed by the Exchange are of the highest quality.

The website for the Exchange will be operational in fall 2002; to find out more about the Exchange, contact Marcia Hayes at HealthPartners, (marcia.g.hayes@healthpartners.com) or Patricia Ohmans at Health Advocates (pohmans@healthadvocates.info).