Exploring the Demand for Professional Interpreting Services in Northern Taiwan’s Hospitals: Physicians’ Perspectives

• Main Authors: Sofia Lee, 李立心
• Other Authors: Chia-Ming Fan
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2018
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/xx32c7

碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 翻譯碩士學位學程 === 106 === Globalization has greatly impacted Taiwan’s medical system with the increase in immigrants and medical tourists contributing to the rise in cross-language communication in hospitals. Without the establishment of proper measures to facilitate cross-language communication, language barriers can lead to inaccurate diagnosis and unsatisfactory medical experiences for both patients and physicians as shown by previous research. Being aware of the potential problems, Taiwan’s government and private organizations have taken measures to overcome the barriers. However, little research has been conducted to explore the current situation of cross-language communication, demand for professional interpreting services, and expectations of professional interpreting services in Taiwan’s hospitals. Without understanding these issues, it is difficult to create an interpreting system that suits the needs of Taiwan’s medical system. With this in mind, this research aims to explore the current situation in Taiwan’s hospitals and physicians’ demand for professional interpreting services by conducting in-depth interviews with 21 physicians working at medical centers in Northern Taiwan. The results show that physicians do not engage in cross-language communication very often. When they do, they communicate with patients or patients’ proxies in English or with the help of ad hoc interpreters. Physicians also apply various strategies, including gesturing and drawing. While some physicians regard professional interpreting service systems as nice to have, most physicians find the current situation acceptable and do not consider professional interpreting services in hospitals necessary. Overall, judging from the participants’ responses, the demand for professional interpreting services may be lower than expected in Taiwan’s hospitals.