Quality of medical translations impacts quality of care
An increasing number of Americans don't speak English and when doctors and patients have language and cultural barriers, the quality of translations can be a problem, University of Michigan researchers argue in the Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved.
Dr. Michael Fetters, associate professor of family medicine and Daniela Garcia-Castillo, a biology student in U-M's Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program, systematically reviewed and analyzed resources, translating clinical and medical research documents, and concluded that attention to translation procedures can improve the quality of care for limited English-proficient patients.
"Medical translation is a complex process involving more than mechanically converting one language to another," Fetters said. "Without quality translations of medical documents in the language of their patients, clinical providers cannot provide best quality care, and patients are at risk for receiving inferior care."
While many recent studies have attended to problems in medical settings with oral interpretation — the conversion of one language into the spoken language of another — the U-M research focused on accurately translating written materials from one language into an equivalent written form in another language.
Click here to read the full U-M press release.