Bischoff A, Tonnerre C, Loutan L, Stalder H
Département de Médecine Communautaire, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Genève.
Soz Praventivmed. 1999;44(6):283-7. doi: 10.1007/BF01358978.
This small-scale study attempts to examine the languages spoken in medical consultations during a one-month period in an outpatient clinic in Geneva and the ways health professionals use to communicate with their allophone patients, in particular by using interpreters. Patients of foreign origin accounted for 58% of all the consultations during the survey. Of these, 37% were Non-French-speakers (NFS). The four major language groups of NFS were Albanian, Somali, Tamil and Serbo-croat. Qualified interpreters were used in 24% of the consultations, relatives acting as interpreters in 17%, and in the other consultations without anyone interpreting (59%), a common language had to be negotiated: French, English, Italian, Spanish or German. In only 14% of the consultations without interpreters, both patient's and doctors ability to speak a common language was rated as good. Our data suggest that there has been an increasing awareness of the possible language barriers in the medical outpatient clinic. Even if proxy solutions (informal interpreters or the use of a common language) still play an important role, access to an interpreter service has been widely used. This calls for systematic and regular interpreter use, planning the interpreting needs in a timely manner. In the future, training in working with interpreters should become an integral part to the introductory sessions for the junior physicians assigned to the outpatient clinic.
这项小规模研究试图考察日内瓦一家门诊诊所一个月期间医疗咨询中使用的语言，以及卫生专业人员与非母语患者沟通的方式，特别是使用口译员的情况。在调查期间，外国籍患者占所有咨询病例的58%。其中，37%为非法语使用者（NFS）。非法语使用者的四大主要语言群体为阿尔巴尼亚语、索马里语、泰米尔语和塞尔维亚 - 克罗地亚语。24%的咨询使用了合格的口译员，17%由亲属担任口译员，在其他无人口译的咨询中（59%），必须协商一种通用语言：法语、英语、意大利语、西班牙语或德语。在没有口译员的咨询中，只有14%的患者和医生使用通用语言的能力被评为良好。我们的数据表明，门诊诊所对可能存在的语言障碍的认识有所提高。即使替代解决方案（非正式口译员或使用通用语言）仍然发挥重要作用，但口译服务的使用已很普遍。这就需要系统且定期地使用口译员，及时规划口译需求。未来，与口译员合作的培训应成为分配到门诊诊所的初级医生入门培训课程的一个组成部分。
