Lost in interpretation: The use of interpreters in research on mental ill health (original) (raw)
Related papers
Working with Interpreters in Qualitative Psychological Research: Methodological and Ethical Issues
Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2011
Clinical psychology aims to address the needs of diverse populations, including those from minority ethnic backgrounds. Arguably, one obstacle to developing appropriate psychological services to minority ethnic people is the lack of relevant qualitative research with people who do not speak English. In particular, there is little exploration around working with professional interpreters during the research. This article explores some methodological and ethical issues arising in psychological research with interpreters, using one study (Vara 2003) as an illustration. This study was conducted in collaboration with a refugee community organisation from which Rwandan refugee people were recruited to participate in qualitative interviews with a Kinyarwandan-speaking interpreter. Some methodological and ethical issues arising in qualitative research with interpreters and implications for psychological service provision are discussed.
Using an interpreter in qualitative interviews: does it threaten validity?
Nursing Inquiry, 2002
Using an interpreter in qualitative interviews: does it threaten validity? There is an extensive literature on the problem of translating scales for use across cultures, but very little is published on the problems of conducting qualitative interviews in another language with assistance of an interpreter. The aim of this paper is to describe and discuss threats to validity that arise when conducting qualitative interviews using an interpreter. Ten female student nurses in two cities in Lithuania were interviewed about how they perceived their educational program. All interviews were conducted in English with an interpreter. When using an interpreter to conduct interviews, potential threats to validity arise at various points in the interview process. A threat arises when the researcher, whose first language is Swedish, addresses a question in English to the interpreter, another during the translation by the interpreter from English to Lithuanian, and again when the interpreter translates the interviewee's Lithuanian responses to English. In the last situation, the researcher may not know whether the interpreter has summarized and/or modified the responses. To mitigate these problems, the interpreter should not only have the required linguistic abilities, but also be trained in the research field. The researcher has to be aware of these threats to validity and make efforts to meet and limit their effects.
Interpreting in Legal and Healthcare Settings. Perspectives on research and training, 2020
This chapter addresses the paucity of interpreter-focused studies in mental health interpreting and presents the voices of spoken-language interpreters reporting on relational, situational and discourse features of the speech of interlocutors with whom they work. Responses from 10 interpreters are presented on pre-interactional contact and briefing, physical configuration of setting, discourse of mental health clinicians, and discourse of mental health patients. Despite guidelines to both clinicians and interpreters, occurrence of a pre-interaction briefing is variable. An equidistant position to other interlocutors is the most common configuration. Descriptions of discourse relate to pace of speech, brevity, clinicians’ alignment with patients, with the physiological, emotional and psychological state of patients listed as challenging features. Code-switching as an unmarked speech variety but also as a conspicuous feature relevant to diagnosis is also reported.
Service-users’ experiences of interpreters in psychological therapy: a pilot study
International Journal of Migration, Health and Social Care, 2014
If you would like to write for this, or any other Emerald publication, then please use our Emerald for Authors service information about how to choose which publication to write for and submission guidelines are available for all. Please visit www.emeraldinsight.com/authors for more information.
Societies
Global migration has contributed to greater language diversity in many parts of the world. Many migrants experience language barriers in their adopted countries. Language barriers hinder access to healthcare, including mental health. There exists little research on the extent of communication difficulties during language discordant mental health services. A cross-sectional observational study design was used to examine prevalence of communication challenges, use of communication best practices, and training needs among mental health providers and interpreters working with immigrants with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) in the United States. Using snowball sampling methods, 38 providers and 34 interpreters were recruited to complete online surveys. Challenges reported by interpreters pertained to technicalities of communication, while those reported by providers pertained to content of communication. Communication best practices such as pre-session briefings and post-session debrie...