Abstract
People perceive and respond to risks based on their values, beliefs, and attitudes and are highly influenced by their languages, making it fundamental for risk communication to take into account cultural background and linguistic identity to communicate risks effectively with the public. The chapter provides an analysis of intercultural communication in health settings as perceived by users of interpreting and translation services, correlating them with the users’ perception of risks. The chapter reports the findings of a survey and interviews conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic with non-Spanish speaking migrants in La Paz hospital in Madrid. Participants’ responses are used to assess the participants’ perception of risks associated to COVID-19 and to identify risk communication strategies and their effectiveness.
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- 1.
See the statement retrieved on May 18, 2021, from https://www.who.int/emergencies/risk-communications
- 2.
Detailed statistics about the current situation in Spain are available through the institutional portal retrieved on May 18, 2021, from http://extranjeros.inclusion.gob.es/ficheros/estadisticas/operaciones/con-certificado/202006/Residentes_Principales_Resultados_30062020.pdf
- 3.
Data extracted from the 30 June 2020 report, retrieved on May 18, 2021, from http://extranjeros.inclusion.gob.es/ficheros/estadisticas/operaciones/con-certificado/202006/Residentes_Principales_Resultados_30062020.pdf
- 4.
See detailed report in OECD retrieved on May 18, 2021, from https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/en/themes/social-challenges
- 5.
The press has discussed this issue; notably see the following articles, which were all accessed May 18, 2021.. Franco, L. (2020, April 20). La falta de intérpretes en el sistema sanitario pone en riesgo a los migrantes que no hablan español. El Pais.https://elpais.com/espana/madrid/2020-04-16/la-falta-de-interpretes-en-el-sistema-sanitario-pone-en-riesgo-a-los-migrantes-que-no-hablan-espanol.html. Sánchez, G. (2020, October 26). Una red de voluntarios parchea la falta de intérpretes de la sanidad madrileña: ‘Llama gente desesperada porque el médico no entiende’. El Diario.es., https://www.eldiario.es/desalambre/red-voluntarios-parchea-falta-interpretes-sanidad-madrilena-llama-gente-desesperada-medico-no-entiende_1_6317757.html. Azcárate, A. & Sainz, P. (2020, May 21). Continúa la demanda de servicios de interpretación en el sistema sanitario. El Salto Diario https://www.elsaltodiario.com/sanidad-publica/demanda-servicios-interpretacion-sistema-sanitario
- 6.
See data from the OHCHR (2020, April 7). COVID-19 and The Human Rights of Migrants: Guidance. Retrieved May 18, 2021, from https://www.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/WopiFrame.aspx?sourcedoc=/Documents/Issues/Migration/OHCHRGuidance_COVID19_Migrants.pdf&action=default&DefaultItemOpen=1
- 7.
See the mission statement on WHO’s website, retrieved on May 18, 2021, from https://www.who.int/activities/implementing-emergency-and-disaster-risk-management
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Pena-Díaz, C. (2022). Managing Communication in Public Health: Risk Perception in Crisis Settings. In: Federici, F.M. (eds) Language as a Social Determinant of Health. Palgrave Studies in Translating and Interpreting. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-87817-7_10
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