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The Special Case of Interpreters in Health Care

Robert W. Putsch III, MD

JAMA. 1985;254(23):3344-3348.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

COMMUNICATION in health care is a complex issue. Language and cultural barriers complicate the situation. Language is the framework in which the world view of a culture is molded, and it describes the boundaries and perspectives of a cultural system.² A language barrier disarms a communicant's ability to assess meanings, intent, emotions, and reactions and creates a state of dependency on the individual who holds the keys to the entire process—the interpreter.

Interpretation requires a great deal of skill. Interpreters find it necessary to describe and explain terms, ideas, and processes that lie outside of the linguistic systems of clients. The interpretation process must account for divergent world views. Individuals and cultures have varying perspectives regarding the cause, presentation, course, and treatment³ of sickness, as well as the risk it represents to others.

The following discussion will focus on the role of interpreters. At the same time, the . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Departments of Medicine and Primary Care, Pacific Medical Center, Seattle.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to the Department of Medicine, Pacific Medical Center, 1200 12th Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144 (Dr Putsch).

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