Conditions for communication between health care professionals and parents on a neonatal ward in the presence of language barriers

Abstract

Purpose: Family-centred neonatal care views parents and child as a unit, and aims to support each family on the basis of its specific needs. Good communication can increase parents' satisfaction and reduce tension, and is necessary to create a mutual trustful relation, but is influenced by language barriers. We aimed to describe communication between neonatal health care professionals and parents in the presence of language barriers. Methods: A field study using a hermeneutic lifeworld approach, participative observation, and interviews with parents and health care professionals. Results: The main theme, endeavouring to understand the meaning behind the words, comprised three themes. Wanting to speak for oneself meant that parents wanted to speak for themselves or call on a friend or multilingual health care professionals, in contrast to the health care professionals wish to use an interpreter. Being aware of cultural keys meant that some wards had access to a "cultural broker" to assist health care professionals and parents with both language translation and understanding of the Swedish health care environment. Understanding one another in the employees' arena reflected varying language skills among health care professionals. The health care professionals had the power to decide the level of access to communication, and decided both the intensity and the frequency of the conversations. Conclusions: Health care professionals preferred to use an interpreter when communicating with parents, while parents wished to be independent and speak for themselves. If an interpreter was used, parents preferred this to be a friend or health care professionals; this option was less popular among health care professionals.

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“…Relying on third parties for interpretation of communication between nurses and caregivers however, posed challenges including delays in the delivery of essential child healthcare services. These findings support several previous studies [ 56 , 62 , 69 , 70 ].…”

Health care professional’s communication through an interpreter where language barriers exist in neonatal care: a national study

“…It was more common to use authorized interpreters for describing a medical treatment, while information about nursing care was more often communicated via unauthorized interpreters. A study regarding healthcare professionals pointed out that interpreters were used almost exclusively in discussions with a physician regarding the child’s medical care, but very rarely in discussions with a registered nurse concerning nursing the child [24]. An exploration of this difference may be, as suggested by previous studies, that it is almost impossible to engage an interpreter for all nursing tasks, and it is often easier to ask a family member to interpret [4].…”

General practitioners’ experiences in consultations with foreign language patients after the introduction of a user’s fee for professional interpretation: a qualitative interview study

“…Reviews have concluded that professional interpreters can improve quality of care with fewer errors in translation, greater satisfaction among both patients and practitioners, and a greater increase in clinical outcome than ad hoc interpreters [ 3 , 16 , 17 ]. However, the role of the interpreter is not necessarily tied to whether the interpreter is professional or ad hoc [ 18 , 19 ]; patients may prefer family interpreters because they provide a different kind of support [ 17 , 18 , 20 ]. Particularly in uncomplicated situations, patients may show a preference for family members.…”