‘Look, wait, I’ll translate’: refugee women’s experiences with interpreters in healthcare in Aotearoa New Zealand

Abstract

This study aimed to explore refugee women's experiences of interpreters in healthcare in Aotearoa, New Zealand (NZ). Semi-structured interviews were conducted with nine women who arrived in NZ as refugees. Analysis involved a 'text in context' approach. An iterative and interpretive process was employed by engaging with participant accounts and field notes. The various meanings behind participants' experiences were unpacked in relation to the literature and the broader socio-cultural contexts in which these experiences occurred. Findings highlighted issues with professional and informal interpreters. These issues included cost, discrepancies in dialect, translation outside appointments, and privacy. Findings indicate ethical and practical implications of using interpreters in healthcare for refugee women. A step to achieving equitable healthcare for refugee women in New Zealand entails putting in place accessible and robust communicative infrastructure.

Conceptualising relational care from an Indigenous Māori perspective: A scoping review

“…Allowing time for questions and listening to the consumer helped the HCP assess the understanding level of what was discussed, facilitated further discussion, and fostered trust in the HCP and the healthcare service (Pene et al, 2021). Cassim et al (2022) highlighted the importance of including whānau in discussions because some consumers may not be able to receive and process information.…”

Barriers to and Recommendations for Equitable Access to Healthcare for Migrants and Refugees in Aotearoa, New Zealand: An Integrative Review

“…The length of stay of participants in Aotearoa prior to the studies also varied, with two studies not stating this information [ 35 , 43 ]. Three studies had an average of four and five years for women and men, respectively [ 33 , 34 , 38 ], one study was between three months to 21 years [ 40 ], one study between six months to three years [ 26 ], two studies with an average of 3.25 years [ 41 , 42 ] and another two studies between 1 and 19 years [ 36 , 37 ]. Two of the studies did not include any information of length of stay as they focused on healthcare providers [ 5 , 39 ].…”

“…The studies predominantly had women participants. Two studies focused on women only [ 36 , 37 ], two studies were women with children [ 41 , 42 ], and one study was with parents though women made up most of the participants [ 43 ]. Of the studies, four studies had a small proportion of men in the sample group [ 26 , 33 – 35 ].…”

“…They also found that some healthcare institutions prohibited patients from bringing family or community members to support people with language difficulties and help to address anxiety regarding health procedures during COVID-19 lockdowns. Other participants with former refugee backgrounds reported a lack of professionally trained interpreters [ 33 , 34 ], leading to language discrepancies for both migrants and refugees [ 37 , 43 ]. There were also concerns when former refugees were offered interpreters of the opposite sex which was inappropriate from a cultural and/or religious perspective [ 26 ].…”

Refugee Family Health Brokers’ (FHBs’) Experiences with Health Care Providers: A Thematic Analysis

“…FHBs’ dissatisfaction with and warning about harm resulting from miscommunication (theme 3) are corroborated by interviews with refugees which revealed that they were concerned about interpreters not maintaining confidentiality, not understanding medical terminology, and not speaking the same dialect [ 42 ]. Miscommunication was found to be a barrier to managing medications [ 43 ] and that it can harm refugees’ health [ 33 ]. Miscommunication concerning medical procedures resulted in perceived unsatisfactory care [ 44 ].…”