Professional Interpreter: A Case Study

Brar et al. suggest that multilingual health professionals pose an ideal solution to language barriers between immigrant women and healthcare providers. (Brar:714) In the absence of multilingual health professionals, interpreters should be available and offered to clients. While the use of professional interpreters may help address language issues, there may be a greater concern with health services provided outside of the hospital setting, given that professional interpreters are often less accessible outside of the hospital. (Brar:714) Therefore, strategies that aim to increase the availability of professional interpreters in the community setting may prove very helpful for immigrant women accessing other maternal health services (e.g. clinics, prenatal education and community public health nurses). With that said, there are many issues to consider with the implementation of interpreter services including maintaining confidentiality and enabling the time required for their effective use (HigginbottomAlberta:300) Ultimately, it is critical that information that meets the learning needs of immigrant women is readily available, including linguistically-appropriate information and illustrated books or videos for individuals who are …show more content…
Sword suggests that emphasis should be placed on informing women of the variety of existing community resources available to them. (10:724). This could be accomplished through the effective use of public health education resources, networking strategies and centres for immigrant women (8:228; 10:724). Grewal also suggested that other information sharing methods may be useful for reaching immigrant communities, such as television talk shows and local newspapers.