Bridging Language Gaps in Health Care: Clinician Experiences and Challenges in Utilizing Medical Interpreters

Area of Science:

• Medical Communication
• Healthcare Quality
• Linguistic Diversity in Healthcare

Background:

• Effective communication is crucial for high-quality care in diverse patient populations.
• Interpreter services are vital for bridging language barriers in healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore clinician perceptions of healthcare quality when using interpreter services.
• To identify barriers to effective interpreter use in a family medicine clinic.

Main Methods:

• Multimethod study including clinician/staff surveys and focus groups.
• Conducted in a residency clinic serving a population with significant foreign language speakers.

Main Results:

• High clinician comfort (87%) using interpreters, but low satisfaction (39%) with medical care provided.
• Clinicians felt capable of diagnosis/treatment but struggled with patient empowerment (44%) and connection (33%).
• Barriers included wait times, poor connections, and patient preference for family interpreters, leading to underutilization.

Conclusions:

• Clinicians are comfortable with interpreter services for essential duties.
• Despite comfort, dissatisfaction exists regarding delivered medical care and patient relationships.
• Logistical and relational challenges impact the effective use of interpreters.