Language
English
Publication Date
9-1-2026
Journal
American Journal of Public Health
DOI
10.2105/AJPH.2026.308470
PMID
42314094
PMCID
PMC13372021
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
7-16-2026
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Author MSS
Abstract
Objectives. To compare 7-day readmission among patients with a non-English primary language in language-serving versus non-language-serving hospitals.
Methods. We conducted a retrospective cohort study using the New Jersey State Inpatient Database (2010-2022). We identified 578 030 inpatient discharges home among patients with a non-English primary language. We used generalized linear mixed models to compare 7-day readmission between language-serving hospitals-defined as those with a higher proportion of patients with a non-English primary language-and non-language-serving hospitals.
Results. Patients with a non-English primary language were less likely to be readmitted within 7 days at language-serving versus non-language-serving hospitals (4.8% vs 9.8%; adjusted odds ratio = 0.49; 95% confidence interval = 0.25, 0.96). This trend persisted when stratified into Spanish (5.5% vs 9.7%), common (4.0% vs 14.6%) and rare non-English primary languages (4.0% vs 8.8%).
Conclusions. Patients with a non-English primary language discharged from language-serving hospitals were less likely to be readmitted within 7 days. Public Health Implications. To improve care for patients with a non-English primary language, future research should identify the hospital- and state-level language access policies that underpin these findings.
Keywords
Patient Readmission, Language, Hospitals, Communication Barriers, Retrospective Studies, Humans, Male, Female, Adult
Published Open-Access
yes
Recommended Citation
Jones, Alyssa N; Dacier, Brittany M; Mejia, Jesus; et al., "Language-Serving Hospitals and Seven-Day Readmission Among Patients With a Non-English Primary Language" (2026). Faculty, Staff and Students Publications. 8531.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/baylor_docs/8531