Address: 1311 E. Central Dr., Meridian, ID 83642 Project Director: Christine M. Hall, MPAS, PA-C, DipACLM, Contact Numbers: Phone: (208) 412-8305, Fax: (208) 373-1786 Email address: christinehall@isu.edu Physician Assistant Studies website: https://www.isu.edu/pa/ Funding requested: $1,643,855 total direct costs. $92,917 indirect costs. Funding Preference: High MUC Placement Rate Focus Area: Patients with Limited English Proficiency Primary Care trainees: Physician Assistant students Summary: Census data shows that 10.4% of Idaho’s population 5 years of age and older uses one of 94 primary languages other than English or Spanish. Idaho’s populations with limited English proficiency (LEP) are increasingly diverse and growing. The Physician Assistant Limited English Advocacy Project (PALEAP) is designed to meet the healthcare workforce goal of increasing the number of primary care Physician Assistant (PA) students prepared to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care and services to individuals with LEP. Physician Assistants (PAs) in Idaho need communicative proficiency in medical Spanish, experience using interpreters to serve linguistically diverse populations, and familiarity with language and advocacy resources to care for the growing number of people with LEP in our state and our region. PALEAP will 1) Increase the number of primary care PAs trained to provide linguistically and culturally appropriate care and services to Spanish speaking individuals with LEP, including those with low health literacy, 2) Develop and implement a culturally competent didactic and clinical curriculum to educate primary care trainees, faculty, and preceptors to care for individuals with LEP, 3) Provide opportunities for clinical training in community-based settings where PA students can care for individuals with LEP, 4) Train PAs to work with interpreters and access language support resources that will increase LEP access to care, advocate for heal
th literacy and increase self-efficacy among LEP patients. PALEAP’s project design and activities reflect research-driven strategies for producing PAs committed to practice in underserved communities and with the skills needed to serve individuals with LEP. The PALEAP project will: 1) Increase the number of primary care trainees (PA students) who are trained to provide culturally competent and linguistically appropriate care and services in Spanish to Spanish-speaking individuals with LEP; 2) Create partnerships with LEP serving community-organizations to strengthen and expand the PAS didactic and clinical curriculum to prepare PAs who are competent and confident in providing culturally and linguistically appropriate health care services for diverse populations with LEP, including Hispanic and non-Hispanic individuals; 3) Partner with 4 community-based clinics serving Hispanics with LEP and non-Spanish-speaking LEP populations to provide 10-week longitudinal PA clinical rotation sites in community-based settings providing care and advocacy for individuals with LEP.