Interpreter Reports on Patient and Family Behaviour Impacting on the Healthcare Interpreter Role

Abstract

This paper focuses on interpreter reports regarding behaviour of family and their relatives in the healthcare interpreting setting in Australia and how this impacted on them and their ability to carry out their role. These reports were part of a broader study in which professional community interpreters participated in a nationwide survey about the expectations of the health interpreter role. Three main themes emerged in this respect. Firstly, interpreters reported on the difficulty of dealing with situations where patients or relatives declined the need for an interpreter. Secondly, they reported experiencing issues where patients or relatives did not want the interpreter to behave impartially. Lastly, interpreters reported the impact of working in situations where emotions were running high for a range of reasons and described how this impacted on their ability to carry out the assignment. This paper will discuss examples of all three, before concluding with some suggestions of ways interpreters, interpreter educators, professional bodies, health organisations and the government could address this lack of understanding of the interpreter role.