Bilingual services: interpreters – themes

Several studies (for example, Baker et al, 1996; Hornberger et al, 1996; Baker et al, 1998) examine the impact of different configurations of interpreting services on a range of outcome measures. Hornberger et al, 1997, for example, measure communication process and health professional and user satisfaction outcomes of a remote interpreting service intervention, finding positive effects. However, little attention is paid to cultural issues in interpreting, nor to professional concerns of the interpreter. Baker et al, 1996, find positive effects of interpreter use on patient understanding of diagnosis and treatment compared with patient understanding when an interpreter was wanted but not available. A related study (Baker et al, 1998) evaluated effects of current interpreting practices, finding that untrained ‘ad hoc’ interpreters provide only a limited amount of patient interpersonal satisfaction. However, the definition of ‘ad hoc’ is itself vague and limited. Overall, these interventions use a range of outcome measures that include dimensions of information understanding, interpersonal satisfaction, and communicative adequacy. Yet the experimental designs, and strictly quantitative approach to data analysis, limit the insights of these studies into effects of interpreting services on communication across languages and cultures.

Study 9

‘Eliminating Language Barriers for Non-English Speaking Patients’ (Hornberger et al, 1996)

Subject

The study, conducted in California, US, compares a remote, simultaneous method of interpreting communications between clinicians and health service users with a more conventional, proximate and consecutive method.

Aims

The aim of the study was to assess in a randomised design the impact of two language interpretation services on various measures of communication quality and quantity. The new language service is called ‘remote-simultaneous interpretation’, which involves interpreters being linked from a remote site to headsets worn by clinician and patient. Interpreters are trained in skills of simultaneous interpretation. In the traditional service, interpreters work in the interview room and interpret consecutively. The intervention measured effects of the different methods on frequency of utterances, quality of interpretation, and levels of patient, interpreter and physician satisfaction with the two services.

Rationale

Potential advantages of a remote simultaneous service over other services include greater coverage of different languages, and better quality of interpretation. No well-controlled study exists comparing effects of different language services on quality or costs of care.