The Work of Language Interpretation in Health Care: Complex, Challenging, Exhausting, and Often Invisible

Abstract

The value of qualified language interpretation services for limited-English-proficient patients is gaining increasing recognition by policy makers and researchers in the United States. Yet the actual work experiences of health care interpreters have not been adequately studied. The purpose of this qualitative research was to explore the work experiences of formal and informal interpreters (n = 27). The core narrative finding from the interview data was the complex, challenging, exhausting, and often invisible work of language interpretation. Critical examination of health care interpreters' complex work and interactions with patients, providers, and administrators is needed to provide more effective and integrated services for limited-English proficient patients.

Agents of empathy: How medical interpreters bridge sociocultural gaps in genomic sequencing disclosures with Spanish-speaking families

“…In line with previous research [14,18,19,28,29], our study shows that interpreters actively intervened during the encounter to make real-time changes to clinicians' language, ultimately making language more accessible and culturally-sensitive. However these actions may be considered controversial as current standards for medical interpretation [30] do not allow alteration of clinicians' utterances.…”

“…While English-speaking clinicians are limited in their ability to understand every LEP patient's culture and how to personalize language, small changes can be made on the part of clinicians' to lessen the need for interpreters to clarify language. Best practices for clinicians include speaking in short clauses [32,33], avoiding jargon [32], using specific words and clear language [32], asking comprehension questions [32], and being cognizant of families' nonverbal cues [28]. In addition, empathy training may be beneficial for clinicians, as studies have shown that it can increase physicians' expression of empathy toward patients [18,34].…”

Informal interpreting in general practice: the migrant patient’s voice

“…Interpreters are known to perform many and sometimes contradictory roles in the medical interaction (Angelelli 2004;Cox 2015;Hsieh 2006Hsieh , 2008McDowell, Messias, and Estrada 2011). Roles in this context refer to the 'behaviours and skills associated with being an interpreter as expected by institutions, practitioners and patients' (Brisset, Leanza, and Laforest 2013, 135).…”

Arab-migrant Cancer Survivors' Experiences of Using Health-care Interpreters: A Qualitative Study

“…While the presence of professional interpreters during health-care encounters cannot guarantee accurate translation,[ 35 36 ] it was concerning that several participants shared examples of where they felt that the interpreters had been inaccurate, skipped words, concealed information, or did not listen to them, resulting in sending incomplete information or questions from the participants to the HCPs. Hadziabdic and Hjelm[ 32 ] reported similar findings with 75% of Arabic-speaking respondents who had used health-care interpreters stating that interpreters should literally interpret without making any judgments and 60% reporting feeling uncertain whether what they said was correctly translated by the interpreter.…”