Differences in the language spoken by residents and staff in long-term care create a variety of problems, including confusion, agitation, and combative behavior of residents toward staff, and difficulty of staff in providing quality care. Market potential exists for the development of Language Boards as innovative intervention products to overcome problems created by language differences. A number of long-term and acute-care facilities have expressed interest in purchasing Language Boards to increase the quality of life and care for residents. Lifespan Associates, Inc. proposes to design, manufacture and market a Language Board System to meet this need. The Language Board System will feature the Language Board with changeable words and phrases in English and the resident's phonetically-translated native language. Words and phrases will be specific to long-term care staff/resident interactions. In Phase I, an experimental design involving observations of staff/patient interactions and personal interviews will test the feasibility of using Language Boards to improve staff/resident interactions. Preferred product characteristics will be determined. Results of Phase l research will specify product function and design criteria for Phase Il product refinement, and market-testing in geographically-dispersed and linguistically-diverse settings.
Long-term care facilities desire interventions to improve staff/resident interactions in which differences in language impose barriers. It is estimated that 10% of nursing home residents speak no English or English as a second language. Facilities such as Menorah Park and Montefiore Homes in Cleveland, OH has expressed strong interest in purchasing Language Boards.
