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Communicating Across Cultures: Improving Translation to Improve Complex Emergency Program Effectiveness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Paul A. Bolton  and
William M. Weiss
Paul A. Bolton*
Affiliation:
Center for International Emergency, Disaster and Refugee Studies, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
William M. Weiss
Affiliation:
Center for International Emergency, Disaster and Refugee Studies, The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
*
45 Gilson Road, Scituate, MA 02066, USA E-mail: pbolton@jhsph.edu
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Abstract

Translation is a vital activity in Complex Emergencies (CEs) in which the responders and the affected populations do not share the same language or culture. This particularly applies to CEs in developing countries in which a lack of local resources usually results in the importation of foreign aid workers. This paper describes many of the common issues surrounding translation that can affect CE response effectiveness, issues that frequently are not appreciated by aid workers, including clinicians. The authors describe how these issues can arise, their effects, and outline approaches to addressing them.

Keywords

complex human emergenciescross-culturaldisastersethnographic methodsqualitative methodstranslation
Type
Part II: Complex Emergencies: Research Initiatives
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 16 , Special Issue 4: Complex Emergencies , December 2001 , pp. 252 - 256
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2001

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References

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3.Weiss, W, Bolton, P: (2000) Training in Qualitative Methods for PVOs and NGOs. Available at http://www.jhsph.edu/refugee/resources.html. Accessed 28 June, 2001.Google Scholar