Language Barriers In Health Care Essay

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The use of the husband as a translator has its limitations, for example, the midwife is unable to verify that the information that passes through the translator, meaning it is possible for the husband to withhold or falsify information to either party. In such instances this may be seen as a contributing factor to domestic abuse, as this can either purposely, or inadvertently, affect the health of mother or fetus. Thirty-four, non-English speaking women, died between the antenatal and post-partum period, between 2003 and 2005 (Lewis, 2007). It should be highlighted that not speaking English has only an associated risk of maternal death, rather than causal. This statistic is influenced by many obstetric factors, as well as homicides, thus this …show more content…

LanguageLine Solutions (2016), is a translating service which connects a professional translator to both the client and the midwife via a telephone, utilised in the Local Trust. This service is available within both the hospital, and the community, setting. Research shows that the dependence on telephone translating services is unlikely to assist in the disclosure of domestic abuse (Knight et al., 2015), possibly relating to the atmosphere within the appointment. The use of the telephone to communicate may increase the barrier between the client and care provider, thus diminishing the advancement of rapport. A qualitative study (Bacchus et al., 2002), shows that an empathetic and non-judgemental environment increases the security the woman feels, resulting in an increased likelihood of discloser. This supports the idea that using telephone translating services limits the prospect of disclosure (Knight et al., 2015). Since reliance on the telephone can remove the emotive stance of the midwife, the client may feel the midwife is neglecting to show

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