Medical Terminology in Intercultural Health Interactions

The terminology and jargon used in medical interactions can pose particular challenges to understanding for patients, healthcare providers, and mediators in cases where a language barrier is present. Common medical words used in the interactional space may mean different things to each party present. This study focuses on 79 mediated and nonmediated South African and Italian recorded healthcare interactions in which a language barrier was present. Using a hybrid sociolinguistic approach, we examined how patients, mediators, and healthcare providers orient to the use of medical terminology and how both parties demonstrate understanding of terminology used in the interactional space. Talk-extrinsic data in the form of interviews with South African patients revealed a frequent lack of understanding of key terminology, yet we found few displays of a lack of understanding in the interactional data nor explicit requests by patients for clarification of terminology not understood. In both data sets, patients made use of medical terminology infrequently and usually when describing their symptoms. Healthcare providers used medical terminology quite regularly. We found limited evidence of explicit verification of patients' understanding of medical terminology by healthcare providers or mediators. Given the additional communication complexities inherent in health interactions where a language barrier is present and patients' tendency not to request clarification, the healthcare provider has a special responsibility to ensure that all parties understand the terminology brought into the interactional space. Direct checks of patient understanding of terminology can provide an effective and efficient way of revealing comprehension and establishing shared membership.