Qualitative Analyses of Language Access Services Implementation in California Primary Care Safety Net Practices.
Hector Rodriguez, Professor
Public Health
Applications for Fall 2025 are closed for this project.
Quality of care disparities between patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) and patients proficient in English have been well documented. Language barriers between patients and providers can lead to medical errors, poor chronic condition management, and undue difficulty accessing care. LEP status is highly correlated with other risk factors for low quality of care, including being uninsured, low income, having lower educational attainment, and being born outside of the U.S.. In California, an estimated 7 million people speak English “less than very well”, making professional medical interpretation a key resource for addressing quality of care disparities.
Community health centers (CHCs) care for underserved populations, including a substantial share of LEP patients; however, these organizations frequently do not have the financial resources or staffing bandwidth to hire dedicated medical interpreters. Despite the critical role CHCs and other safety net practices play, no comprehensive data currently exist to describe their language access capabilities or the practice characteristics associated with stronger language access systems.
This study aims to fill that gap by interviewing CHCs and other safety net practice leaders and cinicians across California to:
1) Characterize their language access services, resources, and infrastructure.
2) Identify practice-level factors associated with more robust capabilities.
3) Explore barriers and facilitators to interpreter use among safety net providers.
The objective of this project is to conduct and analyze interview data focused on language access services and infrastructure in ~8 safety net primary care practices across California. The interviews aim to understand and improve how language access needs are met for patients with limited English proficiency (LEP). Findings will inform policy and technical assistance efforts to strengthen language access across California’s primary care safety net.
This project is funded by the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF).
Role: Responsibilities of the student include:
● Transcript cleaning, coding, and qualitative analyses of interview data using NVIVO software.
● Table construction and reference management for manuscripts.
● Focused literature reviews
● Co-authorship opportunities are available.
Qualifications: ● Interest in healthcare organizational efforts to provide culturally competent care to populations with LEP
● Strong writing skills
● Experience with reference management.
● Experience or interest in cleaning, coding, and analyzing interview data using qualitative analysis software (e.g., Nvivo, Atlas.ti, Dedoose, etc.).
● Strong communication skills and intellectual curiosity are preferred.
Day-to-day supervisor for this project: Jacob Chen, MPH, Staff Researcher
Hours: 6-8 hrs
Off-Campus Research Site: Hybrid work
Biological & Health Sciences Social Sciences