Meuter Renata F I, Gallois Cindy, Segalowitz Norman S, Ryder Andrew G, Hocking Julia
School of Psychology and Counselling, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2015 Sep 10;15:371. doi: 10.1186/s12913-015-1024-8.
Miscommunication in the healthcare sector can be life-threatening. The rising number of migrant patients and foreign-trained staff means that communication errors between a healthcare practitioner and patient when one or both are speaking a second language are increasingly likely. However, there is limited research that addresses this issue systematically. This protocol outlines a hospital-based study examining interactions between healthcare practitioners and their patients who either share or do not share a first language. Of particular interest are the nature and efficacy of communication in language-discordant conversations, and the degree to which risk is communicated. Our aim is to understand language barriers and miscommunication that may occur in healthcare settings between patients and healthcare practitioners, especially where at least one of the speakers is using a second (weaker) language.
METHODS/DESIGN: Eighty individual interactions between patients and practitioners who speak either English or Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese) as their first language will be video recorded in a range of in- and out-patient departments at three hospitals in the Metro South area of Brisbane, Australia. All participants will complete a language background questionnaire. Patients will also complete a short survey rating the effectiveness of the interaction. Recordings will be transcribed and submitted to both quantitative and qualitative analyses to determine elements of the language used that might be particularly problematic and the extent to which language concordance and discordance impacts on the quality of the patient-practitioner consultation.
Understanding the role that language plays in creating barriers to healthcare is critical for healthcare systems that are experiencing an increasing range of culturally and linguistically diverse populations both amongst patients and practitioners. The data resulting from this study will inform policy and practical solutions for communication training, provide an agenda for future research, and extend theory in health communication.
医疗行业中的沟通不畅可能会危及生命。移民患者数量的增加以及接受国外培训的工作人员数量的上升意味着，当医护人员和患者中有一方或双方使用第二语言时，沟通错误的可能性越来越大。然而，系统研究这一问题的相关研究有限。本方案概述了一项基于医院的研究，该研究将考察医护人员与其母语相同或不同的患者之间的互动情况。特别令人感兴趣的是语言不匹配对话中沟通的性质和效果，以及风险传达的程度。我们的目标是了解患者与医护人员在医疗环境中可能出现的语言障碍和沟通不畅问题，尤其是在至少一方使用第二（较弱）语言的情况下。
方法/设计：在澳大利亚布里斯班南区的三家医院的一系列门诊和住院科室，将对80对母语为英语或中文（普通话或粤语）的患者与医护人员之间的互动进行视频记录。所有参与者都将填写一份语言背景调查问卷。患者还将完成一份简短的调查，对互动的有效性进行评分。记录将被转录，并进行定量和定性分析，以确定所用语言中可能特别成问题的元素，以及语言匹配和不匹配对医患咨询质量的影响程度。
对于患者和医护人员文化和语言日益多样化的医疗系统而言，了解语言在造成医疗障碍方面所起的作用至关重要。本研究所得数据将为沟通培训的政策和实际解决方案提供依据，为未来研究提供议程，并扩展健康沟通理论。
