Language and Cultural Discordance: Barriers to Improved Patient Care and Understanding

Abstract

Providing optimal health care to patients whose first language is not English remains a major challenge. Medical students, residents, and attendings receive limited cultural competency training, but these short sporadic training courses are not nearly enough to give physicians the proper resources or preparation to understand all their patients’ beliefs. Medical interpreters can fill this gap and strengthen health care for these already marginalized communities. It is important to reconceptualize medical interpreters as true collaborators in medicine who can provide valuable insights that extend beyond language interpretation at the bedside. Physicians would benefit from the insights of these professionals who can function as both language and cultural interpreters who know these patient communities well. Improved communication between physicians and interpreters would not violate traditional physician–patient boundaries but would instead strengthen this relationship to provide the best possible care.

Doctor Attributes That Patients Desire during Consultation: The Perspectives of Doctors and Patients in Primary Health Care in Botswana

“…Patients in the current study preferred that doctors communicate with them in their own language because it affords them the space to feel comfortable to share personal information, to be understood, to participate meaningfully in their care plan, and to feel respected and accepted. The importance of language concordance with the consulting doctor has been shown in studies conducted in developed countries [ 52 , 53 , 54 ]. Research has established that language concordance also improves adherence to treatment and the clinic schedule, which improve health outcomes [ 54 , 55 ].…”