Page 145 - S. Ličen, I. Karnjuš, & M. Prosen (Eds.). (2019). Women, migrations and health: Ensuring transcultural healthcare. Koper, University of Primorska Press.
P. 145
Monoligual Health?
rience in medical setting for migrant/refugee women who felt that her pa-
tient’s rights were violated. On the other hand, they reveal how the absence
of interpretation services is creating difficult situation for medical personnel
who cannot perform their work in a professional and competent manner.
In addition, the second example shows that overcoming language barriers
adds additional strain since it is time consuming and often results in medical
personnel not communicating effectively with the patient. Previous research
(Gorjanc, 2013; Gosenca, 2017; Milavec Kapun et al., 2017; Rotar Pavlič et al.,
2017; Kocijančič Pokorn & Lipovec Čebron, in press) has shown that linguis-
tic barriers are one of the crucial factors that limit the access to healthcare
institutions for migrant population in Slovenia. The consequences of these
barriers are multifold: from avoiding or delaying the visit to the doctor, to
numerous misunderstandings or even traumatic experiences in medical set-
tings.
These findings are in line with research in other countries (Bowen, 2001; An-
gelelli, 2008; Schapira et al., 2008; Verrept, 2008; Ingleby, Chiarenza, DEville,
& Kotsioni, 2012) that demonstrate that absence of or lack of quality interpre-
tation and translation in healthcare constitutes not only violations of basic
healthcare standards and poses a risk to the patients’ safety, but also creates
a significant financial burden for the healthcare system (Kocijančič Pokorn, in
press).
The lack of systematic support leads to situations where patients as well
as healthcare workers are left to their own inventiveness in their attempts to
address communication obstacles, as the following case shows:
A young woman from Kosovo speaking only Albanian in her last week
of pregnancy came to maternity hospital. She was accompanied by her
husband and their five-year-old daughter. Due to the lack of amniotic
liquid I suggested to induce labor the following day and described the
method, but I noticed that her husband did not understand me well.
Finally, I explained it with the following words: ‘Baby has no water, so
he can no longer swim, this is why he has to come out soon. I suggest
your wife gives birth tomorrow. Please, translate it to her.’ He translated
it to his wife with few words, and she started telling him something with
a worried expression on her face. When I finally asked him to translate,
he did it in a single sentence telling me that she was only surprised
a little bit. He probably noticed my surprise and quickly added: ‘You
know, you Slovenes sometimes have hundred words, while we have
just one.’ [Focus group in the maternity hospital, 6. 6. 2018]
143
rience in medical setting for migrant/refugee women who felt that her pa-
tient’s rights were violated. On the other hand, they reveal how the absence
of interpretation services is creating difficult situation for medical personnel
who cannot perform their work in a professional and competent manner.
In addition, the second example shows that overcoming language barriers
adds additional strain since it is time consuming and often results in medical
personnel not communicating effectively with the patient. Previous research
(Gorjanc, 2013; Gosenca, 2017; Milavec Kapun et al., 2017; Rotar Pavlič et al.,
2017; Kocijančič Pokorn & Lipovec Čebron, in press) has shown that linguis-
tic barriers are one of the crucial factors that limit the access to healthcare
institutions for migrant population in Slovenia. The consequences of these
barriers are multifold: from avoiding or delaying the visit to the doctor, to
numerous misunderstandings or even traumatic experiences in medical set-
tings.
These findings are in line with research in other countries (Bowen, 2001; An-
gelelli, 2008; Schapira et al., 2008; Verrept, 2008; Ingleby, Chiarenza, DEville,
& Kotsioni, 2012) that demonstrate that absence of or lack of quality interpre-
tation and translation in healthcare constitutes not only violations of basic
healthcare standards and poses a risk to the patients’ safety, but also creates
a significant financial burden for the healthcare system (Kocijančič Pokorn, in
press).
The lack of systematic support leads to situations where patients as well
as healthcare workers are left to their own inventiveness in their attempts to
address communication obstacles, as the following case shows:
A young woman from Kosovo speaking only Albanian in her last week
of pregnancy came to maternity hospital. She was accompanied by her
husband and their five-year-old daughter. Due to the lack of amniotic
liquid I suggested to induce labor the following day and described the
method, but I noticed that her husband did not understand me well.
Finally, I explained it with the following words: ‘Baby has no water, so
he can no longer swim, this is why he has to come out soon. I suggest
your wife gives birth tomorrow. Please, translate it to her.’ He translated
it to his wife with few words, and she started telling him something with
a worried expression on her face. When I finally asked him to translate,
he did it in a single sentence telling me that she was only surprised
a little bit. He probably noticed my surprise and quickly added: ‘You
know, you Slovenes sometimes have hundred words, while we have
just one.’ [Focus group in the maternity hospital, 6. 6. 2018]
143
