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Interpreters as co-diagnosticians: Overlapping roles and services between providers and interpreters

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  • Hsieh, Elaine

Abstract

This study examined medical interpreters' practice of the co-diagnostician role and further explored its practical, institutional, and ethical implications. Twenty-six professional interpreters (of 17 languages), 4 patients, and 12 health-care providers were recruited for this study, which involves participant observation and interviews undertaken in the Midwestern US. Constant comparative analysis was used to develop themes of interpreters' communicative practices. Interpreters justified their role performances by claiming the identity of a member of the health care team and their work as part of the team effort. Their communicative strategies as a co-diagnostician reflect their preconception of the social hierarchy of health-care settings and the emphasis on diagnostic efficacy. I have identified five strategies for the co-diagnostician role. These were assuming the provider's communicative goals; editorializing information for medical emphasis; initiating information-seeking behaviors; participating in diagnostic tasks; and volunteering medical information to the patients. Although many strategies can be attributed to interpreters' effort to conserve providers' time and to bridge the cultural differences, they also pose risks to patients' privacy, clinical consequences, and provider-patient relationships.

Suggested Citation

  • 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.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:64:y:2007:i:4:p:924-937
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kaufert, Joseph M. & Koolage, William W., 1984. "Role conflict among 'culture brokers': The experience of native Canadian medical interpreters," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 18(3), pages 283-286, January.
    2. Hsieh, Elaine, 2006. "Conflicts in how interpreters manage their roles in provider-patient interactions," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 62(3), pages 721-730, February.
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    Cited by:

    1. 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.
    2. 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).
    3. Bell, Susan E., 2019. "Interpreter assemblages: Caring for immigrant and refugee patients in US hospitals," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 29-36.
    4. Deumert, Ana, 2010. "'It would be nice if they could give us more language' - Serving South Africa's multilingual patient base," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 71(1), pages 53-61, July.
    5. Wei, Wan, 2024. "Beyond the patient-doctor dyad: Examining “other” patient engagement in Traditional Chinese Medicine consultations," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 340(C).

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