Abstract
Purpose: In this study, we aim to advance equitable access to culture-language-concordant care for older immigrants in long-term care (LTC) and homecare settings by examining current evidence and engaging interest holders in critical dialogue.
Background: Older immigrants with limited English/French proficiency experience language and cultural barriers that compromise safety, person-centred care, and social inclusion. Language translation technologies offer potential solutions, yet their acceptability, feasibility, and equity implications in elder care remain unclear.
Methods: Using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and Joanna Briggs Institute’s Population-Concept-Context approach, we conducted a scoping review of empirical studies (2005–2024) on cultural-language translation apps and devices used with older adults in LTC and homecare settings and analyzed them through Richardson et al.’s (2022) Digital Health Equity Framework. In addition, to move “discovery into action”, we convened a multidisciplinary World Café style Community Knowledge Exchange Forum with 91 attendees, including older adults and families, LTC staff, nurses, researchers, technology partners, and policy representatives. Padlet notes from forum discussions were thematically analyzed.
Results: There was a scarcity of research on language translation technologies that focus on older immigrants in LTC or homecare settings. Existing literature showed limited attention to digital health equity, and minimal inclusion of older adults’ voices. Forum discussions highlighted three intersecting needs: (1) hybrid human-technology models where digital tools augment, not replace, relational care; (2) culturally safe design that respects dialects, migration histories, and stigma related to language loss; and (3) structural supports, including funding, training, workflow integration, and community co-design. Participants underscored nursing leadership to evaluate translation tools, advocate for equitable procurement, and embed translation supports into routine care.
Conclusions/Implications: Combining evidence synthesis with community dialogue highlighted both the promise and limits of translation technologies in older adult care. Nurses are well-positioned to lead implementation of hybrid language translation models that centre cultural humility, human connection, and digital health equity and to co-develop practice recommendations and pilot hybrid models in care settings.
Notes
References:
Hudelson, P., & Chappuis, F. (2024). Using Voice-to-Voice Machine Translation to Overcome Language Barriers in Clinical Communication: An Exploratory Study. Journal of General Internal Medicine : JGIM, 39(7), 1095–1102. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-024-08641-w
Reaume, M., Peixoto, C., Pugliese, M., Tanuseputro, P., Batista, R., Kendall, C. E., Landry, J.-R., Prud’homme, D., Chomienne, M.-H., Farrell, B., & Bjerre, L. M. (2024). The impact of patient-facility language discordance on potentially inappropriate prescribing of antipsychotics in long-term care home in Ontario, Canada: a retrospective population health cohort study. BMC Geriatrics, 24(1), Article 889. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-024-05446-8
Richardson, S., Lawrence, K., Schoenthaler, A. M., & Mann, D. (2022). A framework for digital health equity. NPJ Digital Medicine, 5(1), Article 119. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-022-00663-0
Wilson, R., Cochrane, D., Mihailidis, A., & Small, J. (2020). Mobile Apps to Support Caregiver-Resident Communication in Long-Term Care: Systematic Search and Content Analysis. JMIR Aging, 3(1), e17136. https://doi.org/10.2196/17136
Yoon, R., Wong, J. P.-H., Chung-Lee, L., Akbarian, A., Abdulai, A.-F., Hou, R., Ho, M., Zinaic, R., & Anoushka, A. (2024). Scoping review protocol: what is the state of evidence for the use of communication apps with immigrant seniors in long-term care and community settings? BMJ Open, 14(8), e089939. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-089939
Sigma Membership
Lambda Pi at-Large
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Long-Term Care, Long Term Care, Home Health Care, Implementation Science, Health Equity or Social Determinants of Health, Transcultural Nursing, Language
Recommended Citation
Akbarian, Abdolreza; Yoon, Rosanra; Ho, Mabel; Stamenova, Vess; Chung-Lee, Leinic; Hou, Rui; Wong, Josephine Pui-Hing; Abdulai, Abdul-Fatawu; Anoushka, Anoushka; and Marciniak, Andrew, "Adopting Cultural-Language Translation Technologies to Advance Equitable Older Adult Care" (2026). International Nursing Research Congress (INRC). 72.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/inrc/2026/presentations_2026/72
Conference Name
37th International Nursing Research Congress
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Conference Year
2026
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-07-27
Adopting Cultural-Language Translation Technologies to Advance Equitable Older Adult Care
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Purpose: In this study, we aim to advance equitable access to culture-language-concordant care for older immigrants in long-term care (LTC) and homecare settings by examining current evidence and engaging interest holders in critical dialogue.
Background: Older immigrants with limited English/French proficiency experience language and cultural barriers that compromise safety, person-centred care, and social inclusion. Language translation technologies offer potential solutions, yet their acceptability, feasibility, and equity implications in elder care remain unclear.
Methods: Using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework and Joanna Briggs Institute’s Population-Concept-Context approach, we conducted a scoping review of empirical studies (2005–2024) on cultural-language translation apps and devices used with older adults in LTC and homecare settings and analyzed them through Richardson et al.’s (2022) Digital Health Equity Framework. In addition, to move “discovery into action”, we convened a multidisciplinary World Café style Community Knowledge Exchange Forum with 91 attendees, including older adults and families, LTC staff, nurses, researchers, technology partners, and policy representatives. Padlet notes from forum discussions were thematically analyzed.
Results: There was a scarcity of research on language translation technologies that focus on older immigrants in LTC or homecare settings. Existing literature showed limited attention to digital health equity, and minimal inclusion of older adults’ voices. Forum discussions highlighted three intersecting needs: (1) hybrid human-technology models where digital tools augment, not replace, relational care; (2) culturally safe design that respects dialects, migration histories, and stigma related to language loss; and (3) structural supports, including funding, training, workflow integration, and community co-design. Participants underscored nursing leadership to evaluate translation tools, advocate for equitable procurement, and embed translation supports into routine care.
Conclusions/Implications: Combining evidence synthesis with community dialogue highlighted both the promise and limits of translation technologies in older adult care. Nurses are well-positioned to lead implementation of hybrid language translation models that centre cultural humility, human connection, and digital health equity and to co-develop practice recommendations and pilot hybrid models in care settings.
Description
This session shares findings from an equity-focused scoping review and World Café style Community Knowledge Exchange Forum on cultural-language translation technologies for older immigrants in long-term and homecare settings. Participants will learn how pairing evidence synthesis with community dialogue can guide nursing leadership in designing hybrid language translation models that enhance equity and inclusion.