Hagan, Sybrand Anthony (2015-12)
ENGLISH ABSTRACT : The provision of good quality mental health care relies heavily on effective communication. Interpreters have a profound role to play where language and cultural barriers stand in the way of effective communication. To date little is known about interpreting practices in low- and middle-income countries. This study examined ad hoc interpreters’ experiences of an in-service training course and subsequent interpreter-mediated sessions at South African psychiatric hospitals. A cross-sectional qualitative interview design was used. The research participants consisted of 13 individuals (ages 25 to 59), all who attended an in-service training course. Seven participants are male and six are female. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed verbatim. The results of the qualitative data are grouped into six themes: “Language barrier between researcher and participants”, “The role of age, culture and gender”, “Views on interpreting”, “Willingness to act as ad hoc interpreters”, “The effectiveness of the in-service training course, subsequent interpreting sessions and interest in more formal training” and “The importance of a working relationship between interpreters and clinicians”. The language ability of participants is unsatisfactory to ensure the optimal delivery of mental health care, as can be seen by numerous miscommunications between researcher and participants. It is clear that interpreters can have a vital impact on the effectiveness of mental health care. There is clearly a need for trained interpreters in South Africa. The continuous use of untrained interpreters could lead to adverse health outcomes. Although participants stated that the in-service training course was helpful, it was difficult to judge the effectiveness of the course, due to various reasons. Finally, limitations and recommendations for future research are discussed.
AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING : Die voorsiening van goeie gehalte geestesgesondheidsorg hang baie van effektiewe kommunikasie af. Vertolkers speel ‘n diepgaande rol wanneer taal en kulturele hindernisse in die pad staan van effektiewe kommunikasie. Tot op datum is daar min bekend oor vertolkingspraktyke in lae- en middel inkomste lande. Hierdie studie ondersoek ad hoc vertolkers se ervarings van ‘n indiensopleidingskursus en daaropvolgende vertolker-bemiddelde sessies by Suid-Afrikaanse psigiatriese hospitale. ‘n Deursnee-kwalitatiewe onderhoud ontwerp was gebruik. Die navorsingsdeelnemers het uit 13 individue (ouderdomme 25 tot 59), wat almal ‘n indiensopleidingskursus bygewoon het, bestaan. Sewe deelnemers is manlik en ses vroulik. Die semi-gestruktureerde onderhoude was verbatim vertaal. Die resultate van die kwalitatiewe data word in ses temas gegroepeer: “Taalgrens tussen navorser en deelnemers”, “Die rol van ouderdom, kultuur en geslag”, “Standpunte oor vertolking”, “Bereidwilligheid om as ad hoc vertolkers op te tree”, “Die effektiwiteit van die indiensopleidingskursus, daaropvolgende vertolkingssessies en belangstelling in meer formele opleiding” en “Die belangrikheid van ‘n werksverhouding tussen vertolker en klinikus”. Die taalvermoë van die deelnemers is onbevredigend om die optimale lewering van geestesgesondheidsorg te verseker, soos gesien kan word deur vele miskommunikasies tussen navorser en deelnemers. Dit is duidelik dat vertolkers ‘n beduidende impak op die effektiwiteit van geestesgesondheidsorg kan hê. Daar is duidelik ‘n behoefte vir opgeleide vertolkers in Suid-Afrika. Die deurlopende gebruik van onopgeleide vertolkers kan lei tot nadelige gesondheidsuitkomste. Alhoewel deelnemers aangedui het dat die indiensopleidingskursus nuttig was, is dit weens verskeie redes moeilik om die effektiwiteit van die kursus te beoordeel. Ten slotte word beperkings en aanbevelings vir toekomstige navorsing bespreek.
Please refer to this item in SUNScholar by using the following persistent URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/97833
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