Online ISSN: 2667-8772
Founding Year: 2019
Publication Frequency: Triannual
Country: Türkiye

Research Article

Healthcare Interpreting in Emergency Departments: Importance of Healthcare Interpreters in the Communicational Process of Foreign Patients and Physicians

Acil Servislerde Sağlık Çevirmenliği: Yabancı Hasta-Hekim Arasındaki İletişim Sürecinde Sağlık Çevirmenlerinin Önemi

DOI
https://doi.org/10.56720/mevzu.1330359
This study aims to investigate the role of healthcare interpreters in overcoming language barriers in Emergency Departments from the perspective of emergency physicians in Türkiye. Although there is a limited number of studies focusing on healthcare interpreting in EDs, they do not evaluate the opinions of ED physicians. Therefore, this study will be a pioneer research analyzing the importance of healthcare interpreting from the perspective of ED physicians in Türkiye. For this purpose, a questionnaire comprising 14 questions was prepared through the survey method to collect the opinions of emergency physicians about communication problems with foreign patients. The convenience sampling method was used to determine the study group consisting of 102 emergency physicians. The data was analyzed with descriptive analysis techniques by calculating the arithmetic mean and frequencies. After the data analysis process, it was found that communication problems in EDs lead to prolonged duration of taking anamnesis, delays in diagnosis, treatment, and discharge, extensive medical examinations, and unnecessary use of medical resources.
Bu çalışma, acil servislerde iletişim sorunlarının çözülmesi aşamasında sağlık çevirmenlerinin rolünü Türkiye'deki acil servis hekimlerinin bakış açısıyla değerlendirmeyi amaçlamaktadır. Acil serviste sağlık çevirmenliğinin önemine odaklanan sınırlı sayıda çalışma olmakla birlikte bu çalışmaların hiçbiri çevirmenlerin Acil Servisteki rolünü ve iletişim sorunlarının önemini acil hekimlerinin görüşlerine dayanarak değerlendirmemiştir. Dolayısıyla bu çalışma, sağlık çevirmenliğinin hasta-hekim karşılaşmaları üzerindeki farklı etkilerini Türkiye’deki acil hekimlerinin bakış açısıyla değerlendiren öncü bir çalışma niteliğindedir. Bahsi geçen amaç doğrultusunda, acil servis hekimlerinin yabancı hastalarla iletişim sorunları hakkındaki görüşlerini almak amacıyla 14 sorudan oluşan bir anket hazırlanmıştır. Anketin hazırlanması aşamasında tarama deseni kullanılmıştır. Çalışma grubunun belirlenmesinde kolay örnekleme yöntemi seçilmiş ve çalışmaya 102 acil servis hekimi dahil edilmiştir. Veriler betimsel analiz teknikleri ile aritmetik ortalama ve frekansları hesaplanarak analiz edilmiştir. Veri analizi sonucunda acil servislerde yaşanan iletişim sorunlarının; anamnez alma süresinin uzamasına, tanı, tedavi ve taburculuk süreçlerinde gecikmelere, gereksiz yere kapsamlı tıbbi tetkiklerin yapılmasına ve tıbbi kaynakların gereksiz kullanımına neden olduğu tespit edilmiştir.
References

Álvaro Aranda, Cristina - Lázaro Gutiérrez, Raquel. “Functions of Small Talk in Healthcare Interpreting: An Exploratory Study in Medical Encounters Facilitated by Healthcare Interpreters.” Language and Intercultural Communication 22/1 (January 2, 2022), 21–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/14708477.2021.2024842

Angelelli, Claudia V. - Ross, Jonathan Maurice. “Contextual Diversity in Telephone Interpreting: Voices from Healthcare Interpreters in Scotland.” Linguistica Antverpiensia, New Series – Themes in Translation Studies 20 (December 13, 2021). https://doi.org/10.52034/lanstts.v20i.611

Azadi, Fatemeh et al. “A Medical Tourist Perception of Iranian Hospital Quality: Limited Employee Foreign Language Skills Negatively Impact Communication.” International Journal of Hospital Research 1/2 (2012), 85– 90.

Baker, David W. “Use and Effectiveness of Interpreters in an Emergency Department.” JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association 275/10 (March 13, 1996), 783. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama.1996.03530340047028

Benda, Natalie C et al. “Observational Study to Understand Interpreter Service Use in Emergency Medicine: Why the Key May Lie Outside of the Initial Provider Assessment.” Emergency Medicine Journal 36/10 (October 2019), 582–588. https://doi.org/10.1136/emermed-2019-208420

Bischoff, Alexander et al. “Improving Communication between Physicians and Patients Who Speak a Foreign Language.” British Journal of General Practice 53 (2003), 541–546.

Bischoff, Alexander. “The Evolution of a Healthcare Interpreting Service Mapped against the Bilingual Health Communication Model: A Historical Qualitative Case Study.” Public Health Reviews 41/1 (December 2020), 19. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40985-020-00123-8

Brenner, Jay M. et al. “Use of Interpreter Services in the Emergency Department.” Annals of Emergency Medicine 72/4 (October 2018), 432–437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2018.05.009

Bruno Echauri Galván. “Interpreting beyond Words: The Impact of Nonverbal Communication on Healthcare Interpreting Standards.” T&I REVIEW 10/1 (June 2020), 7–31. https://doi.org/10.22962/TNIRVW.2020.10.1.001

Büyüköztürk, Şener. Bilimsel araştırma yöntemleri. Ankara: Pegem Akademi, 23. baskı., 2017.

Chae, Duckhee - Park, Yunhee. “Organisational Cultural Competence Needed to Care for Foreign Patients: A Focus on Nursing Management.” Journal of Nursing Management 27/1 (January 2019), 197–206. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12665

Chan, Yu-Feng et al. “Interpreter Services in Emergency Medicine.” The Journal of Emergency Medicine 38/2 (February 2010), 133–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jemermed.2007.09.045

Clifford, Andrew. “Is Fidelity Ethical?: The Social Role of the Healthcare Interpreter1.” TTR : Traduction, Terminologie, Rédaction 17/2 (July 20, 2006), 89–114. https://doi.org/10.7202/013273ar

Cox, Antoon et al. “Using Patient Companions as Interpreters in the Emergency Department: An Interdisciplinary Quantitative and Qualitative Assessment.” Patient Education and Counseling 102/8 (August 2019), 1439–1445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2019.03.004

Delizée, Anne - Michaux, Christine. “The Mental Health Interpreter’s Relational Agency and Therapeutic Alliance.” The Translator 28/2 (April 3, 2022), 215–233. https://doi.org/10.1080/13556509.2022.2133395

Dorian Ramirez et al. “Language Interpreter Utilization in the Emergency Department Setting: A Clinical Review.” Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved 19/2 (2008), 352–362. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.0.0019

Flores, Glenn. “The Impact of Medical Interpreter Services on the Quality of Health Care: A Systematic Review.” Medical Care Research and Review 62/3 (June 2005), 255–299. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077558705275416

Fraenkel, Jack R. et al. How to Design and Evaluate Research in Education. New York: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 8th ed., 2012.

Gavioli, Laura - Wadensjö, Cecilia. “Reflections on Doctor Question – Patient Answer Sequences and on Lay Perceptions of Close Translation.” Health Communication 36/9 (July 29, 2021), 1080–1090. https://doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2020.1735699

Ginde, Adit A. et al. “Reevaluation of the Effect of Mandatory Interpreter Legislation on Use of Professional Interpreters for ED Patients with Language Barriers.” Patient Education and Counseling 81/2 (November 2010), 204–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2010.01.023

Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı. “Düzensiz Göç İstatistikleri.” goc.gov.tr. 2023. Accessed August 21, 2023. https://www.goc.gov.tr/duzensiz-goc-istatistikler.

John-Baptiste, Ava et al. “The Effect of English Language Proficiency on Length of Stay and In-Hospital Mortality.” Journal of General Internal Medicine 19/3 (March 2004), 221–228. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1525- 1497.2004.21205.x

Leanza, Yvan. “Roles of Community Interpreters in Pediatrics as Seen by Interpreters, Physicians and Researchers.” Interpreting. International Journal of Research and Practice in Interpreting 7/2 (November 9, 2005), 167–192. https://doi.org/10.1075/intp.7.2.03lea

Merlini, Raffaela - Gatti, Marcela. “Empathy in Healthcare Interpreting: Going beyond the Notion of Role.” The Interpreters' Newsletter 20 (2015), Trieste, EUT Edizioni Università di Trieste, 2016, 139-160.

Ngai, Ka Ming et al. “The Association Between Limited English Proficiency and Unplanned Emergency Department Revisit Within 72 Hours.” Annals of Emergency Medicine 68/2 (August 2016), 213–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2016.02.042

Njeru, Jane W. et al. “Emergency Department and Inpatient Health Care Utilization among Patients Who Require Interpreter Services.” BMC Health Services Research 15/1 (December 2015), 214. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913- 015-0874-4

Oğuz-İnan, Başak. “Anamnez Alma Şema ve Özellikler.” İç Hastalıklarında Temel Bilgi ve Prensipler Semiyoloji, 2021.

Pöchhacker, Franz. “Quality Assessment in Conference and Community Interpreting.” Meta 46/2 (October 2, 2002), 410–425. https://doi.org/10.7202/003847ar

Roat, Cynthia, E. - Crezee, Ineke, H. M. “Healthcare Interpreting.” The Routledge Handbook of Interpreting. New York: Routledge, 2015.

Saeki, Soichiro et al. “Defining Foreign Patients as ‘Visitors’ and ‘Residents’ in Japanese Medical Facilities: Difficulties in the Collection of Adequate Data.” Journal of Epidemiology 32/2 (February 5, 2022), 112–113. https://doi.org/10.2188/jea.JE20210288

Sahip, Birsen et al. “Hematolojik Tanıda Anamnez ve Fizik Muayene.” Tanısal Hematoloji. 1–5. Ankara: Türkiye Klinikleri, 1st Ed., 2020.

Şan, Filiz - Kahraman Duru, Rana. “COVID 19 Koşullarında Sağlık Çevirmenliği Hizmetleri ve Toplum Çevirmenliğinde ‘Yeni Normal’’i Düşünmek.” RumeliDE Dil ve Edebiyat Araştırmaları Dergisi, 816–843. https://doi.org/10.29000/rumelide.792521

Stratton, Samuel J. “Population Research: Convenience Sampling Strategies.” Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 36/4 (August 2021), 373–374. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X21000649

Turan, Dilek. “Sağlık Çevirmenliği: Hekim-Hasta İletişimi ve Hekimin İktidar Pozisyonunun Değerlendirilmesi.” Journal of Turkish Studies 13/Volume 13 Issue 20 (January 1, 2018), 751–777. https://doi.org/10.7827/TurkishStudies.13715

There are 34 references in total.
How to Cite
Taşdan Doğan, Tuğçe Elif - Tepe, Nagihan. “Healthcare Interpreting in Emergency Departments: Importance of Healthcare Interpreters in the Communicational Process of Foreign Patients and Physicians”. Mevzu - Journal of Social Sciences 10 (September 14, 2023), 461-489. https://doi.org/10.56720/mevzu.1330359
View No. 10 (2023): Sayı 10

No. 10 (2023): Sayı 10

Article Information

  • Article Type Research Article
  • Submitted February 19, 2026
  • Published September 14, 2023
  • Issue No. 10 (2023): Sayı 10
  • Section Research Article
  • File Downloads 776
  • Abstract Views 261
  • Altmetrics
  • Share
Download data is not yet available.