Centre for Translation Studies, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK.
Department of Population Health Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences and Medicine, King's College London, London, UK.
BMC Prim Care. 2024 Nov 27;25(1):405. doi: 10.1186/s12875-024-02646-4.
Interpreting services bridge language barriers that may prevent patients and clinicians from understanding each other, impacting quality of care and health outcomes. Despite this, there is limited up-to-date evidence regarding the barriers to and facilitators of uptake in primary care. The aim of this study was to ascertain current national uptake and experience of interpreting services in primary care (general practice) by South Asian communities in England.
We conducted a national cross-sectional survey in 2023 with people with limited or no English language proficiency (n = 609). Multilingual researchers interviewed people from Bangladeshi (n = 213), Indian (n = 200), and Pakistani (n = 196) backgrounds from four regions in England (Greater London, Midlands, Yorkshire and the Humber, North West).
Sixty-three percent of participants reported using professional interpreting services in primary care. The most common modality was face-to-face interpreting (55%), followed by telephone (17%) and video (8%). Multivariable analysis identified several correlates of lower uptake: participants from Indian backgrounds, those living in the Midlands, and those whose family member/friend interpreted for them within the past year were less likely to have used a professional interpreter provided by their general/family practice. Participants who had visited primary care within the last 12 months, had requested an interpreter but were told they could not have one, were informed about professional interpreting services, and were given choice in their language support were more likely to have used a professional interpreter.
Our approach provides novel data on professional interpreting service use and evidence about the factors that may play a role in patient uptake and experience.
口译服务可以弥合语言障碍，使患者和临床医生能够相互理解，从而提高医疗质量和改善健康结果。尽管如此，关于初级保健中口译服务采用的障碍和促进因素，仍缺乏最新的证据。本研究旨在确定英格兰的南亚社区目前在初级保健（全科医疗）中采用口译服务的情况和经验。
我们于 2023 年进行了一项全国性的横断面调查，调查对象为英语水平有限或完全不具备英语水平的人群（n=609）。多语言研究人员采访了来自英格兰四个地区（大伦敦、米德兰兹、约克郡和亨伯、西北）的孟加拉裔（n=213）、印度裔（n=200）和巴基斯坦裔（n=196）背景的人群。
63%的参与者报告在初级保健中使用了专业口译服务。最常见的模式是面对面口译（55%），其次是电话口译（17%）和视频口译（8%）。多变量分析确定了采用率较低的几个相关因素：印度裔背景的参与者、居住在米德兰兹地区的参与者，以及在过去一年中由其家庭成员/朋友为其口译的参与者，他们使用全科医生/家庭医生提供的专业口译员的可能性较低。过去 12 个月内去过初级保健机构、曾要求口译但被告知无法提供、了解专业口译服务、并在语言支持方面有选择的参与者，更有可能使用专业口译员。
我们的方法提供了关于专业口译服务使用情况的新数据，以及关于可能影响患者采用和体验的因素的证据。
