Language Initiatives helps investigators enhance the recruitment and management of patients with limited English proficiency. The program fosters effective communication and collaborative exchange between clinical investigators and people with cancer through:

• Translation, transcription, trans-creation, and localization of study materials
• Field testing translated study materials for literacy and readability
• Patient focus groups, including design, development, administration, and reports
• Interpretation in research and participatory research settings
• Linguistic and cultural responsiveness training for healthcare professionals
• Video creation and development including writing, directing, editing, dubbing, and acting

Language Initiatives supports and consults on a wide range of research activities conducted by the Immigrant Health and Cancer Disparities Service and other Memorial Sloan Kettering researchers, aiding them in their endeavors to serve diverse populations with linguistic and cultural responsiveness.

Our Research

Language Initiatives has performed groundbreaking research on the impact of cross-linguistic communication on medical costs, errors, and outcomes. Our studies include:

• “Characterization of non-English Language Proficiency by Applicants to U.S. Residency Programs,” which is examining how English proficiency affects application to different medical specialty residence programs.
• “The Impact of Physician Non-English Language Proficiency Level on Cancer Screening,” which is evaluating the influence that clinician proficiency levels in languages other than English have on cancer screening rates for patients with limited English proficiency.
• Our Analysis Methodology Project (with a panel of Spanish speakers) to ascertain translation accuracy of nationally validated research surveys.

Language Initiatives offers a highly customized range of trainings in medical interpreting and cultural responsiveness.

Contact Us

For a consultation and to learn more about our fee structure, please contact Javier González at gonzalc3@mskcc.org.