The Roles of medical interpreters in intensive care unit communication: A qualitative study

Suárez, Nataly R. Espinoza; Urtecho, Meritxell; Jubran, Samira; Yeow, Mei Ean; Wilson, Michael E.; Boehmer, Kasey R.; Barwise, Amelia

doi:10.1016/j.pec.2020.10.018

Cited by 35 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 74 publications

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“…For instance, the role of mediator encompasses both moral (Seale et al, 2013) and intercultural mediation (Rosenbaum et al, 2020;Sleptsova et al, 2014). On the other hand, examples of patient advocacy as understood in the present paper are equally reported in Hsieh (2013) and Krystallidou et al (2017), whereas the role of healthcare ambassador covers strategies also observed by Espinoza Suarez et al (2020). Examples of emotional support observed under the category of conversation partner coincide with results obtained by Lara-Otero et al (2019), whilst the role of institutional navigator is also seen midconsultation (Álvaro Aranda, 2020).…”

Section: The Interpreter As a Conversation Partnersupporting

confidence: 58%

“…In some cases, interpreters filter out messages when confronted with messages reflecting negative judgements of one of the participants (Seale et al, 2013). When acting as patient empowerers, healthcare interpreters elaborate on comments to improve understanding of medical procedures (Hsieh, 2013), whilst patient advocacy involves activities seeking the patient's best interests, such as specifying their needs and preferences (Krystallidou et al, 2017), supervising their level of health literacy (Espinoza Suarez et al 2020), or providing emotional support (Lara-Otero et al, 2019). In addition, interpreters serve as representatives for the public service (Parrilla Gómez, 2019) and may collaborate with clinicians by assisting them in historytaking (Davitti, 2019), attempting to (re)direct the patient's responses towards the session's goal (Mirza et al, 2017) or exploring ambiguous answers (Baraldi and Gavioli, 2018).…”

Section: A Brief Reflection On the Role Of The Healthcare Interpretermentioning

confidence: 99%

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“I Don’t Know, I’m Just the Interpreter”: A first approach to the role of healthcare interpreters beyond bilingual medical encounters

Aranda

2021

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Researchers have long been preoccupied with the issue of role in healthcare interpreting. However, most studies approach this construct in the course of medical consultations, leaving somewhat unattended other spaces and activities in which interpreters also participate. This paper aims to contribute to a better understanding of the healthcare interpreters’ role in these areas. Drawing on participant observation, I examined the roles played by five interpreters at a hospital in Madrid for five months in activities different to provider-patient interactions (e.g. waiting with patients). Seven key roles were identified outside medical consultations: intercultural and moral mediator, patient advocate, institutional navigator, healthcare ambassador, information miner and companion/conversation partner. A key finding is that most events in which interpreters participate occur outside medical consultations, which makes it essential to shift the attention to the roles played in these alternative spaces. Understanding the role of healthcare interpreters in different activities within the realm of healthcare scenarios is essential to construct an accurate vision of what being just an interpreter really means.

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Section: The Interpreter As a Conversation Partnersupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: A Brief Reflection On the Role Of The Healthcare Interpretermentioning

confidence: 99%

“I Don’t Know, I’m Just the Interpreter”: A first approach to the role of healthcare interpreters beyond bilingual medical encounters

Aranda

2021

TRANS

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“…There is growing literature that in-person medical interpreters enhance the quality of communication during EOL and GOC conversations with LEP patients. 15,27,29,33-35,38-40 Despite the vast evidence of the benefits of using in-person medical interpreters 9,11-15,27,33,38,39,41 including being able to provide more personable communication and identifying non-verbal cues that are important in communication, there are some organizational limitations that affect their utilization. Access to in-person medical interpreters varies greatly by institution and is often not available due to time constraints and expense.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Healthcare Provider Perspectives Regarding Use of Medical Interpreters During End-of-Life Conversations With Limited English Proficient Patients

Silva

Adelman

Singh

et al. 2021

Am J Hosp Palliat Care

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Background: Healthcare providers increasingly care for patients with Limited English Proficiency (LEP). There is limited research evaluating healthcare provider utilization practices, attitudes, perceived benefits and barriers regarding the use of medical interpreters in end of life (EOL) and goals of care (GOC) conversations. Objectives: To elicit healthcare providers’ opinions of the role, factors that impact decisions to use medical interpreters and perceived utility of using medical interpreters when conducting EOL and GOC conversations with LEP patients and their families. Design: Cross-sectional survey of internal medicine trainees and attending physicians from a U.S. medical center. Results: A total of 117 surveys were collected with a response rate of 51%. In-person medical interpreters received higher ratings with regard to their helpfulness compared to telephone medical interpreters during EOL and GOC conversations. Being an attending physician and having received training in the use of a medical interpreter predicted higher composite scores reflecting greater awareness of the roles of medical interpreters and endorsement of best communication practices. In-person interpreters were viewed by a subset of participants as “standard of care” during EOL and GOC conversations. Conclusion: Having more years in practice and receiving training in the use of medical interpreters correlated with more favorable attitudes toward the role of medical interpreters and positive communication practices. Incorporating early training in the use of medical interpreters could help enhance communication practices and outcomes during EOL and GOC conversations with LEP patients.

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“…Given the multidisciplinary and discontinuous nature of ED care, there is a need for high‐quality research to identify and develop methods to facilitate the inclusion of professional interpreters as essential members of the health care team through all patient interactions. 62 , 63 …”

Section: Research Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Breaking through barriers: the need for effective research to promote language‐concordant communication as a facilitator of equitable emergency care

et al. 2022

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Individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP) are at high risk for adverse outcomes in the US health care system. This is particularly true for patients with LEP seeking care in the emergency department (ED). Although professional language interpretation improves the quality of care for these patients, it remains underused. The dynamic, discontinuous nature of an ED visit poses distinct challenges and opportunities for providing equitable, high‐quality care for patients with LEP. Evidence‐based best practices for identifying patients with LEP and using professional interpretation are well described but inadequately implemented. There are few examples in the literature of rigorous interventions to improve quality of care and outcomes for patients with LEP. There is an urgent need for high‐quality research to improve communication with patients with LEP along the continuum of emergency care in order to achieve equity in outcomes.

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The Roles of medical interpreters in intensive care unit communication: A qualitative study

Cited by 35 publications

References 74 publications

“I Don’t Know, I’m Just the Interpreter”: A first approach to the role of healthcare interpreters beyond bilingual medical encounters

“I Don’t Know, I’m Just the Interpreter”: A first approach to the role of healthcare interpreters beyond bilingual medical encounters

Healthcare Provider Perspectives Regarding Use of Medical Interpreters During End-of-Life Conversations With Limited English Proficient Patients

Breaking through barriers: the need for effective research to promote language‐concordant communication as a facilitator of equitable emergency care

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