Using children as informal interpreters in pediatric consultations
International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare
ISSN: 2056-4902
Article publication date: 21 September 2015
Abstract
Purpose
Health care professionals (HCPs) face numerous barriers in providing services to limited English proficient (LEP) patients and their families. The purpose of this paper is to explore and expand on the limited scholarship concerning HCPs’ experiences using children as informal interpreters in pediatric consultations.
Design/methodology/approach
Ten HCPs from five different fields participated in this study. They were interviewed over the phone and replied to follow-up correspondence about their knowledge on policies for communicating with LEP patients and/or their families when providing medical care.
Findings
Using a thematic analysis five themes emerged across all cases: cultural awareness, communication quality, live interpreters as a solution, use of child language brokers (CLBs), and the norm of child language brokering. Through the development of the aforementioned themes, HCPs’ limited awareness of implications when using CLBs and of the established policies related to this phenomenon were apparent.
Originality/value
This lack of knowledge, acknowledged by HCPs, provides a platform from which to create awareness of the need for further education about the potential risks CLBs face when interpreting medical information and of the negative impact this process can have on the overall medical outcome of a patient. Furthermore, it allows the authors to address the ignorance within the health care system that has allowed vulnerabilities to LEP individuals being treated in health care facilities.
Keywords
Citation
Russell, B.R., Morales, A. and Ravert, R.D. (2015), "Using children as informal interpreters in pediatric consultations", International Journal of Human Rights in Healthcare, Vol. 8 No. 3, pp. 132-143. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJHRH-07-2013-0009
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2015, Emerald Group Publishing Limited