Background and objective While over half of foreign residents in Japan need language assistance during medical consultations, no extant studies have clarified illness perception accorded by language assistance in non-Japanese-speaking patients. This cross-sectional study conducted an online questionnaire survey to investigate the illness perception of non-Japanese-speaking patients and analyze the factors related to illness perception. Methodology The survey was conducted twice, from February to May 2022 and from February to April 2023, targeting non-Japanese-speaking individuals. In total, 293 valid responses were obtained. The Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (Brief IPQ) scores were compared between the groups receiving language assistance and those without assistance, and a logistic regression analysis was performed to examine the factors related to illness perception accorded by the status of the language assistance group. Results The total score for illness perception was significantly lower in the language assistance group than in the non-assistance group (P = 0.04). Moreover, in the language assistance group, age (odds ratio [OR] = 0.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.84-0.99) and comprehension of medical consultations (OR = 0.31, 95% CI = 0.11-0.83) were significantly associated with low illness perception among participants. However, these associations were not observed in the non-assistance group. Conclusions These findings underscore the crucial role of ensuring effective communication and promoting a better understanding of illness perception during medical consultations.
Keywords: health communication; healthcare; illness perception; language assistance; non-japanese-speaking patients.
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