¿Qué dijo el médico?: Creating a Procedural Preparation Booklet for Spanish-Speaking Patients and Families in the Pediatric Hospital Setting

The purpose of my Honors Project is to demonstrate the need for and creation of a resource that supports Spanish-speaking children’s ability to cope through commonly stressful medical procedures. In developing this project, I conducted a literature review on the efficacy of preparation booklets in lessening pre-procedural anxiety, cultural considerations for the Hispanic community, and current barriers to equitable language access in healthcare settings. My final product was designed to answer the following question: How can the psychosocial outcomes of Spanish-speaking children in U.S. hospitals be improved through the use of Child Life procedural preparation materials? In answering this question, I designed and produced procedural preparation booklets in Spanish for blood draws, IV placements, and MRI scans. These preparation booklets are designed for caregivers to read to their child before the procedure in question as a way to ensure that they have access to developmentally appropriate information in the language that is most comfortable for them. In this paper, I discuss the research surrounding interventions designed by Child Life Specialists to support the Hispanic community, as well as my reasoning for decisions I made in terms of the content, translations, and graphics included in the final product.