AAAAI helps bridge gap in Spanish-language medical information

Communication between patient and physician is crucial to quality health care. This is especially true for the 20 million people living in America with limited English language abilities.

Misunderstandings between patient and physician can result in poor medical care, confusion and mistakes. Additionally, many patients may not seek help at all.

In an effort to meet the growing need for second-language medical resources, the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology offers a breadth of Spanish-language patient information on its Web site at www.aaaai.org/espanol.

The AAAAI has identified more than 400 Spanish-speaking allergist/immunologists in the United States and Canada. Patients can locate these physicians through the AAAAI’s Physician Referral Directory (www.aaaai.org/physref) by selecting “español” in the search box.

The AAAAI is the only medical association offering comprehensive resources on allergies and asthma in Spanish. Resources available online at www.aaaai.org/espanol include:

* Elements of Allergy & Asthma – updated each month with a new topic

* Children’s storybooks

* Easy reader sheets

* 30 different patient education brochures

Allergies and asthma are serious, chronic medical conditions that demand the care of a qualified physician. Both conditions are common among children, so parents must be able to speak comfortably with their child’s physician. Asthma affects Hispanics and other minority populations at disproportionate rates.

The AAAAI represents allergists, asthma specialists, clinical immunologists, allied health professionals and others with a special interest in the research and treatment of allergic disease. Established in 1943, the AAAAI is the largest medical specialty association dedicated to allergy/immunology, with nearly 6,500 members in the United States, Canada and 60 other countries.
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Note: The AAAAI has allergy and asthma experts who are conversant in Spanish available for interviews. Contact Kimberly Jahnke at kjahnke@aaaai.org to arrange an interview.

The AAAAI may also be able to provide public service advertisements for publication in or broadcast on Spanish-language media.”

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