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Towards a collaborative structure of interpreter-mediated medical consultations: Complementing functions between healthcare interpreters and providers

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  • Álvaro Aranda, Cristina
  • Gutiérrez, Raquel Lázaro
  • Li, Shuangyu

Abstract

In today's multilingual and multicultural societies, healthcare interpreters are increasingly needed to mitigate communication barriers in language-discordant, intercultural medical consultations. To orient these interactions, existing guidelines, best practices and recommendations shed light on the behaviour and responsibilities of interpreters and healthcare providers involved. These documents, however, mainly treat both professionals as individuals that take care of separate, unrelated dimensions of consultations, thus failing to address how they can work collaboratively. This seems to be particularly relevant if we consider that prescriptive documents advocate for an invisible interpreter rather than an active participant, consequently ignoring the positive functions interpreters are playing when they step out of their prescribed roles. In this context, this paper sets out to explore potential collaboration between both professional groups to improve communication as a whole. Drawing on Goffman's production format (1981), we examined excerpts from real interpreter-mediated medical consultations that took place at a public hospital in Madrid (Spain) over a period of five months (February–June 2017). Data analysis reveals that interpreters enact an author role as main participants of consultations and serve several functions in medical encounters, consequently sharing some of the responsibilities which are conventionally seen as doctors'. This may reveal potential areas of interest for interprofessional collaboration. In addition to interpreting, participants performed other clinical functions, thus accounting for complementary functions of that performed by healthcare providers. Interpreters act as clinical and therapeutic allies, patient empowerers and metalinguistic negotiators. In light of our findings, the next step is to design a new model for the interpreter-mediated medical consultations that integrates both perspectives in a collaborative, non-excluding proposal.

Suggested Citation

  • Álvaro Aranda, Cristina & Gutiérrez, Raquel Lázaro & Li, Shuangyu, 2021. "Towards a collaborative structure of interpreter-mediated medical consultations: Complementing functions between healthcare interpreters and providers," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:269:y:2021:i:c:s0277953620307486
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113529
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hsieh, Elaine, 2007. "Interpreters as co-diagnosticians: Overlapping roles and services between providers and interpreters," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 924-937, February.
    2. Parveen Azam Ali & Roger Watson, 2018. "Language barriers and their impact on provision of care to patients with limited English proficiency: Nurses' perspectives," Journal of Clinical Nursing, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 27(5-6), pages 1152-1160, March.
    3. Seale, Clive & Rivas, Carol & Al-Sarraj, Hela & Webb, Sarah & Kelly, Moira, 2013. "Moral mediation in interpreted health care consultations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 141-148.
    4. Lisa Goodson & Aleksandra Grzymala-Kazlowska, 2017. "Researching Migration in a Superdiverse Society: Challenges, Methods, Concerns and Promises," Sociological Research Online, , vol. 22(1), pages 15-27, February.
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Chris Sampson’s journal round-up for 25th January 2021
      by Chris Sampson in The Academic Health Economists' Blog on 2021-01-25 12:01:17

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