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Language Barriers and the Role of Interpreters: A Challenge in the Work with Migrants and Refugees

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An Uncertain Safety

Abstract

The quality of services for migrants and refugees depends to a substantial part on the quality of communication. Particularly in refugees, who usually have no realistic opportunity to acquire the language of the host country before their flight and might be distressed or traumatised, experienced interpreters are required. However, these are frequently not available or not integrated so far in healthcare or legal services. Untrained translators or family members are frequently used instead. The chapter explores legal and medical risks attached to different strategies regarding the use of interpreters and the differences between trained and untrained translators. It further gives an overview of standards and alternatives to address this important challenge in refugee care.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    www.unhcr.org/dach/at/trainingshandbuch (Authors: Annika Bergunde, Sonja Pöllabauer)

  2. 2.

    See also the Swiss Office of Public Health [34] on the characteristics of trialogues and the shifting balance of conversation in interpreted dialogues [34].

  3. 3.

    www.inter-pret.ch/de/home-1.html

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Ethics and Law in Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Maria Kletečka-Pulker & Sabine Parrag

  2. PsyQ/Parnassia Group, Rosmalen/Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Boris Drožđek

  3. World Psychiatric Association Scientific Section, Psychological Aspects of Persecution and Torture, Geneva, Switzerland

    Thomas Wenzel

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  1. Maria Kletečka-Pulker
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  2. Sabine Parrag
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  3. Boris Drožđek
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  4. Thomas Wenzel
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Correspondence to Maria Kletečka-Pulker .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. World Psychiatric Association Scientific Section, Psychological Aspects of Persecution and Torture, Geneva, Switzerland

    Thomas Wenzel

  2. PsyQ/Parnassia Group, Rosmalen/Eindhoven, The Netherlands

    Boris Drožđek

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Kletečka-Pulker, M., Parrag, S., Drožđek, B., Wenzel, T. (2019). Language Barriers and the Role of Interpreters: A Challenge in the Work with Migrants and Refugees. In: Wenzel, T., Drožđek, B. (eds) An Uncertain Safety. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72914-5_14

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