Maichou Lor, PhD

mlor2@wisc.edu

Current occupation: Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Columbia University in the City of New York

Awarded the Certificate in Spring 2014

Research interests: Promoting patient-centered communication to first generation elderly patients with limited English proficiency, in particular Hmong elders, in the healthcare setting. She is focusing on supporting organizational change along with understanding system-related barriers to the implementation of translational change in the healthcare setting.

Q&A

What was your research project for the Certificate?

Examining the Quality of Patient-Provider Communication Using Telephonic Interpreter Service during Medication Encounters

What role did your community partner play in the project?

Assisting researchers in identifying an area of concern in their community and providing feedback throughout the research process to ensure that it was sensitive to the community’s culture. For example, a few of the participants from the community, who participated in the research data collection process, suggested utilizing color coded stickers to help them better understand which medications and when to take their medications.

How might this research affect the health consumer?

This research study aims to better understand ways to improve communication between non-English speaking patients and healthcare providers when utilizing telephone interpreter services in the clinical setting. Specifically, this study explored the quality of telephone interpretation during medication consultations in the Hmong language. One of our findings was that there were substantial disparities between the student pharmacists’ instructions and the interpreters’ translation that hindered relationship building between the patient and provider. The finding suggests that both interpreters and health care providers need systematic training and the ability to negotiate their roles together to interact effectively with each other on behalf of the patients to improve patients’ health outcomes, specifically medication management.

What did you learn in the program that you didn’t expect to learn?

Translational research fosters the multidirectional integration of basic research, patient-oriented research, and population-based research. Additionally, I learned that it is imperative to ensure that one develops the competencies to thrive in a multidisciplinary collaborative team including communication and negotiation skills in order to transfer knowledge from and to the bedside and community.

Name the top things learned that you will use in your research career.

I have developed skills in engaging in multidisciplinary collaborations along with appropriate techniques to manage a multidisciplinary research team, and successful approaches to community engagement. These skills are essential in being an effective future researcher.

What advice would you give current and future Certificate students?

Be an activist in research so that you can gain the skills necessary to make change happen!

Published works

Lor, M., Khang, P., Moua, K., Xiong, P., & Lauver, D.R. (2013). Understanding Hmong Women’s Beliefs and Feelings about Screening for Breast and Cervical Cancer. Public Health Nursing Journal, 30(5), 420-428.

Lor, M., & Bowers, B. (2014). Evaluating Teaching Techniques in the Hmong Breast and Cervical Cancer Health Awareness Project. Journal of Cancer Education, 29(2), 358-365. doi:10.1007/s13187-014-0615-0.

Lor, M, Xiong, P., Schwei, R., Bowers, B., &Jacobs, E. (2016). Limited English proficient Hmong- and Spanish-speaking patients' perceptions of the quality of interpreter services. International Journal of Nursing Studies,54, 75-83. DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2015.03.019.

Lor, M. & Chewning, B. (2016). Telephone Interpreter Discrepancies: Videotapes of Hmong Medication Consultations. International Journal of Pharmacy Practice, 4, 30-39.

Lor, M., Xiong, P., Parks, L., Schwei, RJ, & Jacobs, EA. (2016). Western or Traditional Healers? Understanding Decision Making in the Hmong Population. Western Journal of Nursing Research. Doi: 0.1177/0193945916636484

Lor, M., Crooks, N., & Tluczek, A. (2016). A proposed model of person, family, and culture centered nursing care. Nursing Outlook, 64, 352-366. Doi: 10.1016/j.outlook.2016.02.006