Interpreter Policy and Healthcare: Policy determinants and current issues
Keywords:
Interpreters, Interpreter policy, multicultural policy, healthcare interpreters, policy modelAbstract
Abstract
Healthcare interpreter policy comprises both the written and the unwritten actions that affect the interpreter service, its structure, funding and service provision arrangements. A model of interpreter service policy is proposed which identifies policy determinants as being: interpreter provider factors, non-English-speaking (NES) patient factors, health system factors, stakeholder factors, factors associated with non-health sectors and evidence and research. Interpreter policy is viewed as being nested within multicultural and mainstream healthcare policy.
Using this model, the article canvasses the range of factors currently influencing healthcare interpreter policy, discusses the evidence and research related to the effectiveness of current policy, and makes suggestions for future directions.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
