Sante Publique
Volume 14, Issue 1, 2002, Pages 75-81

Refugees, migrants, language barriers: Physicians' opinion about means of translation assistance [Réfugiés, migrants, barrière de la langue: Opinion des praticiens sur les moyens d'aide à la traduction] (Article)

Graz B.* , Vader J.-P. , Raynault M.-F.
  • a Inst. Univ. de Med. Soc./Preventive, Bugnon 17, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland
  • b Inst. Univ. de Med. Soc./Preventive, Bugnon 17, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland
  • c Inst. Univ. de Med. Soc./Preventive, Bugnon 17, 1005 Lausanne, Switzerland

Abstract

When the patient and caregiver do not share a common language, an interpreter is not always the best solution, and in any case, one cannot be present for every visit, especially in the case of an emergency. According to a questionnaire that was sent to all of the physicians who are members of a health care network for asylum seekers in the Swiss canton of Vaud (n = 169), it appears that 45% of practitioners found a telephone translation service to be a practical solution, and 58% would like medical glossaries with phonetic pronunciation and visual illustrations made available. With a response rate of 91%, it is estimated that these two types of services would be used as often as qualified interpreters, if they were made available. Other translating aids are also proposed.

Author Keywords

Migrants Quality of care Interpreters communication Refugees Switzerland

Index Keywords

doctor patient relation Questionnaires Multilingualism Communication Barriers normal human Physicians Humans refugee Transients and Migrants language visual aid Article interpersonal communication Switzerland human Translations Refugees health care quality
Link
https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-0036113102&partnerID=40&md5=5436995efd5adad626193ee757d1be40
ISSN: 09953914
Cited by: 4
Original Language: French