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Healthcare Professionals’ Views of Working with Medical Interpreters in a Cancer Setting: an Exploratory Study

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Abstract

Australia, like many other nations, continues to become more culturally and linguistically diverse. Medical interpreters play a key role in bridging the linguistic gap between healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients. Little research exists from the HCP’s perspective about working with interpreters. This study aimed to explore the views of HCPs regarding working with interpreters in a cancer setting. This exploratory study utilised a cross-sectional, qualitative design, involving focus groups and semi-structured interviews. HCPs from the Oncology and Palliative Care units were invited to participate and were asked about their experiences of working with interpreters in a cancer setting. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed. An inductive thematic analysis of qualitative data derived an understanding of attitudes and beliefs which may affect the way in which HCPs interact with interpreters and patients. Twenty-five participants were recruited. Five key themes emerged from the data: (1) communication practices and preferences, (2) training and supports, (3) alternative methods for translation, (4) challenges faced by HCPs and interpreters, and (5) limitations of translation. Communication with non-English-speaking patients using interpreters could be significantly improved with further training and support for both HCPs and interpreters, and a greater appreciation for the challenges each party faces.

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Data Availability

The original recordings and transcripts are stored by the Department of Medical Oncology, St Vincent’s Hospital, and are available on request.

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Funding

This project was funded internally by the Department of Medical Oncology, St Vincent’s Hospital.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medical Oncology, St Vincent’s Hospital, 41 Victoria Pde, Fitzroy, Victoria, 3065, Australia

    Felicity C. Martin & Sue-Anne McLachlan

  2. Palliative Care Service, St Vincent’s Hospital, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia

    Jennifer Philip

  3. Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Eastern Hill Campus, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia

    Jennifer Philip & Sue-Anne McLachlan

Authors
  1. Felicity C. Martin
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  2. Jennifer Philip
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  3. Sue-Anne McLachlan
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Contributions

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation and data collection were performed by FCM and SAM and analysis was performed by FCM and JP. The first draft of the manuscript was written by FCM and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Felicity C. Martin.

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Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval was granted by the Ethics Committee of St Vincent’s Hospital, Melbourne (8 April 2019, reference number HREC 247/18).

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Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Martin, F.C., Philip, J. & McLachlan, SA. Healthcare Professionals’ Views of Working with Medical Interpreters in a Cancer Setting: an Exploratory Study. J Canc Educ 37, 1115–1121 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01927-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-020-01927-7

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