Interpreters’ experiences of general practitioner–patient encounters

Abstract

Objective. To study interpreters’ experiences of problems in cross-cultural communication with special regard to the general practitioner (GP)–patient encounter. Design. A focus-group interview with authorized interpreters was carried out. A phenomenographic method was used in the analysis.Setting. Primary health care.Results. The interpreters displayed a number of problems mainly related to the difficulty in balancing the triad relation (GP–patient–interpreter), the role of the interpreter in relation to other healthcare staff, the time aspects of the translation procedure, and the problems of diverse health beliefs and cultural inequalities.Conclusion. The interpreters notice a set of difficulties that need to be highlighted in order to improve consultations with cross-cultural GP–patient encounters.

• Cross-cultural communication
• culture
• interpreter
• doctor–patient consultation