Attitudes to and implementation of video interpretation in a Danish hospital: A cross-sectional study

Immigrants, refugees, and their descendants comprise 12% of Denmark's population. Some of these people do not speak or understand Danish well enough to communicate with the staff in a healthcare setting and therefore need interpreter services. Interpretation through video conferencing equipment (video interpretation) is frequently used and creates a forum where the interpreter is not physically present in the medical consultation. The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes to and experiences with video interpretation among charge nurses in a Danish university hospital.

An electronic questionnaire was sent to 99 charge nurses. The questionnaire comprised both closed and open-ended questions. The answers were analysed using descriptive statistics and thematic text condensation.

Of the 99 charge nurses, 78 (79%) completed the questionnaire. Most charge nurses, 21 (91%) of the daily/monthly users, and 21 (72%) of the monthly/yearly users, said that video interpretation increased the quality of their conversations with patients. A total of 19 (24%) departments had not used video interpretation within the last 12 months.

The more the charge nurses used video interpretation, the more satisfied they were. Most of the charge nurses using video interpretation expressed satisfaction with the technology and found it easy to use. Some charge nurses are still content to allow family or friends to interpret. To reach its full potential, video interpretation technology has to be reliable and easily accessible for any consultation, including at the bedside.