Three-hundred-fifty-four patients with Hispanic names
were approached and asked if they spoke English, Spanish or
both. One-hundred-five patients, all self-proclaimed English
speakers, were enrolled in the study. Patients ranged from
18-89 years of age, with 37.1% (39/105) male and 62.9%
(66/105) and female; 49% (50/102) patients had only completed
grade school. Sixty-five of 98 (66.3%) of self-proclaimed
English speakers scored at or above a seventh grade reading
level on the REALM, and 72.0% (67/93) scored in the category
of adequate or better on the STOFHLA. There was a significant
difference between patients' tested level of English competency
and the physicians' and nurses' assessments of the
patients' language competency (p-0.002).