Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dsjbd Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T15:13:32.579Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Working With Interpreters During International Health Responses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2013

Abstract

Health care providers face multiple difficulties in providing care to a disaster-stricken community. Training, preparation, and a good attitude are important, as is adequate logistical support. An often-ignored issue is the difficulty encountered with language barriers during a response, and how using interpreters affects the quality and impact of the health care provided. This article reviews the use of interpreters and focuses on how they may affect an international health care response.

(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2011;5:159–163)

Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2011

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1.Anderson, SR.How many languages are there in the world? Linguistic Society of America. http://www.lsadc.org/info/pdf_files/howmany.pdf. Accessed May 24, 2011.Google Scholar
2.Haitian Creole Language. Accessed September 24, 2010. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haitian_Creole_language.Google Scholar
3.US Census Bureau. S1601. Language spoken at home. 2006-2008 American Community Survey 3-year estimates. http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/STTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_S1601&-ds_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_. Accessed September 24, 2010.Google Scholar
4.Ginzburg, E, O’Neill, WW, Goldschmidt-Clermont, PJ, de Marchena, E, Pust, D, Green, BA.Rapid medical relief—Project Medishare and the Haitian earthquake. N Engl J Med. 2010;362 (10):e3120181963.Google Scholar
5.Delonnay, PB.Returning home to Haiti. Providing medical care after the earthquake. N Engl J Med. 2010;362:e2520164477.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Goodman, A.Ministry of touch—reflections on disaster work after the Haitian earthquake. N Engl J Med. 2010;362 (11):e3720200361.Google Scholar
7.Lau, D.Disaster relief: helping the survivors of the Haiti earthquake. Emerg Nurse. 2010;17 (10):1821.Google Scholar
8.Amundson, D, Dadekian, G, Etienne, M.Practicing internal medicine onboard the USNS COMFORT in the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake. Ann Intern Med. 2010;152 (11):733737.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Pape, JW, Johnson, WD Jr, Fitzgerald, DW.The earthquake in Haiti—dispatch from Port-au-Prince. N Engl J Med. 2010;362 (7):575577.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Redmond, AD.Natural disasters. BMJ. 2005;330 (7502):12591261.Google Scholar
11.Bolton, PA, Weiss, WM.Communicating across cultures: improving translation to improve complex emergency program effectiveness. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2001;16 (4):252256.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Dysart-Gale, D.Clinicians and medical interpreters: negotiating culturally appropriate care for patients with limited English ability. Fam Community Health. 2007;30 (3):237246.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Schapira, L, Vargas, E, Hidalgo, R.Lost in translation: integrating medical interpreters into the multidisciplinary team. Oncologist. 2008;13 (5):586592.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14.Squires, A.Methodological challenges in cross-language qualitative research: a research review. Int J Nurs Stud. 2009;46 (2):277287.Google Scholar
15.Wallin, AM, Ahlström, G.Cross-cultural interview studies using interpreters: systematic literature review. J Adv Nurs. 2006;55 (6):723735.Google Scholar
16.Aranguri, C, Davidson, B, Ramirez, R.Patterns of communication through interpreters: a detailed sociolinguistic analysis. J Gen Intern Med. 2006;21 (6):623629.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Rosenberg, E, Seller, R, Leanza, Y.Through interpreters' eyes: comparing roles of professional and family interpreters. Patient Educ Couns. 2008;70 (1):8793.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18.Dysart-Gale, D.Communication models, professionalization, and the work of medical interpreters. Health Commun. 2005;17 (1):91103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19.Fatahi, N, Mattsson, B, Hasanpoor, J, Skott, C.Interpreters' experiences of general practitioner-patient encounters. Scand J Prim Health Care. 2005;23 (3):159163.Google Scholar
20.Singy, P, Guex, P.The interpreter's role with immigrant patients: contrasted points of view. Commun Med. 2005;2 (1):4551.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21.Kaufert, JM, Putsch, RW.Communication through interpreters in healthcare: ethical dilemmas arising from differences in class, culture, language, and power. J Clin Ethics. 1997;8 (1):7187.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22.Freed, AO.Interviewing through an interpreter. Soc Work. 1988:315319.Google Scholar
23.Hsieh, E.Conflicts in how interpreters manage their roles in provider-patient interactions. Soc Sci Med. 2006;62 (3):721730.Google Scholar
24.Hsieh, E, Ju, H, Kong, H.Dimensions of trust: the tensions and challenges in provider--interpreter trust. Qual Health Res. 2010;20 (2):170181.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25.Murray, CD, Wynne, J.Using an interpreter to research community, work and family. Community Work Fam. 2001;4:157170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26.Hudelson, P.Improving patient-provider communication: insights from interpreters. Fam Pract. 2005;22 (3):311316.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27.Ngo-Metzger, Q, Massagli, MP, Clarridge, BR.Linguistic and cultural barriers to care. J Gen Intern Med. 2003;18 (1):4452.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28.Majid, A, Bowerman, M, Kita, S, Haun, DBM, Levinson, SC.Can language restructure cognition? The case for space. Trends Cogn Sci. 2004;8 (3):108114.Google Scholar
29.Tohidian, I.Examining linguistic relativity hypothesis as one of the main views on the relationship between language and thought. J Psycholinguist Res. 2009;38 (1):6574.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30.Smedley, BD, Stith, AY, Nelson, AR.Unequal Treatment. Confronting Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Health Care. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.; 2003.Google Scholar
31.Kodjo, C.Cultural competence in clinician communication. Pediatr Rev. 2009;30 (2):5763, quiz 64.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
32.Schouten, BC, Meeuwesen, L.Cultural differences in medical communication: a review of the literature. Patient Educ Couns. 2006;64 (1-3):2134.Google Scholar
33.Misra-Hebert, AD.Physician cultural competence: cross-cultural communication improves care. Cleve Clin J Med. 2003;70 (4):289303, 293, 296-298 passim.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
34.Cohen, AL, Rivara, F, Marcuse, EK, McPhillips, H, Davis, R.Are language barriers associated with serious medical events in hospitalized pediatric patients? Pediatrics. 2005;116 (3):575579.Google Scholar
35.Flores, G, Laws, MB, Mayo, SJ.Errors in medical interpretation and their potential clinical consequences in pediatric encounters. Pediatrics. 2003;111 (1):614.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
36.Divi, C, Koss, R, Schmaltz, S, Loeb, JM.Language proficiency and adverse events in US hospitals: a pilot study. Int J Qual Health Care. 2007:18.Google ScholarPubMed
37.Flores, G.The impact of medical interpreter services on the quality of health care: a systematic review. Med Care Res Rev. 2005;62 (3):255299.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
38.Karliner, LS, Jacobs, EA, Chen, AH, Mutha, S.Do professional interpreters improve clinical care for patients with limited English proficiency? A systematic review of the literature. Health Serv Res. 2007;42 (2):727754.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
39.Flores, G.Language barriers to health care in the United States. N Engl J Med. 2006;355 (3):229231.Google Scholar
40.Baker, DW, Parker, RM, Williams, MV, Coates, WC, Pitkin, K.Use and effectiveness of interpreters in an emergency department. JAMA. 1996;275 (10):783788.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
41.Wilson-Stronks, A, Galvez, EHospitals, language and culture: a snapshot of the nation. Exploring cultural and linguistic services in the nation's hospitals: a report of the findings. The Joint Commission and the California Endowment.2007. http://www.jointcommission.org/assets/1/6/hlc-paper.pdf. Accessed May 24, 2011.Google Scholar
42.Hudelson, P, Vilpert, S.Overcoming language barriers with foreign-language speaking patients: a survey to investigate intra-hospital variation in attitudes and practices. BMC Health Serv Res. 2009;9:18719832982.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
43.Ginde, AA, Sullivan, AF, Corel, B, Caceres, JA, Camargo, CA JrReevaluation of the effect of mandatory interpreter legislation on use of professional interpreters for ED patients with language barriers. Patient Educ Couns. 2010;81 (2):204206.Google Scholar
44.Laws, MB, Heckscher, R, Mayo, SJ, Li, W, Wilson, IB.A new method for evaluating the quality of medical interpretation. Med Care. 2004;42 (1):7180.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
45.Jayasinghe, S.Faith-based NGOs and healthcare in poor countries: a preliminary exploration of ethical issues. J Med Ethics. 2007;33 (11):623626.Google Scholar
46.Farooq, S, Fear, C, Oyebode, F.An investigation of the adequacy of psychiatric interviews conducted through an interpreter. Psychol Bull. 1997;21:209213.Google Scholar
47.Rosenberg, E, Leanza, Y, Seller, R.Doctor-patient communication in primary care with an interpreter: physician perceptions of professional and family interpreters. Patient Educ Couns. 2007;67 (3):286292.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
48.White, K, Laws, MB.Role exchange in medical interpretation. J Immigr Minor Health. 2009;11 (6):482493.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
49.Robb, N, Greenhalgh, T.“You have to cover up the words of the doctor”: the mediation of trust in interpreted consultations in primary care. J Health Organ Manag. 2006;20 (5):434455.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
50.Bolden, GB.Toward understanding practices of medical interpreting: interpreter's involvement in history taking. Discourse Stud. 2000;2:387419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
51.Davidson, B.The interpreter as institutional gatekeeper: the social-linguistic role of interpreters in Spanish-English medical discourse. J Sociolinguist. 2000;4:379405.Google Scholar
52.Hsieh, E.Interpreters as co-diagnosticians: overlapping roles and services between providers and interpreters. Soc Sci Med. 2007;64 (4):924937.Google Scholar
53.Norris, WM, Wenrich, MD, Nielsen, EL, Treece, PD, Jackson, JC, Curtis, JR.Communication about end-of-life care between language-discordant patients and clinicians: insights from medical interpreters. J Palliat Med. 2005;8 (5):10161024.Google Scholar
54.Sande, H.Supervison of refugee interpreters: 5 years of experience from northern Norway. Nord J Psychiatry. 1998;52 (5):403409.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
55.Pakieser, RA, McNamee, M.How to work with an interpreter. J Contin Educ Nurs. 1999;30 (2):7174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
56.Phelan, M, Parkman, S.How to work with an interpreter. BMJ. 1995;311 (7004):555557.Google Scholar
57.Schenker, Y, Lo, B, Ettinger, KM, Fernandez, A.Navigating language barriers under difficult circumstances. Ann Intern Med. 2008;149 (4):264269.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
58.Launer, J.Taking medical histories through interpreters: practice in a Nigerian outpatient department. Br Med J. 1978;2 (6142):934935.CrossRefGoogle Scholar