Project extension | Making the switch to remote interpreting

One-year project extension for a previously funded project.

Innovative Practices in Service Provision with Interpreters in Times of Health Crisis: A Qualitative Study of Clinicians, Interpreters, and Service Users’ Perspectives

Language barriers hinder access and quality in health and social services. Attention to cultural and social norms is also key to the provision of good care, especially with migrants and refugees. The benefits of working through interpreters have been documented, yet not in the context of health crises nor from the perspective of service users. Our study explores how practitioners, interpreters, and service users in Quebec provide/receive health and social services during the COVID-19 crisis. Individual semi-structured interviews (n=60) will be conducted with public and community-based health and social service providers, interpreters, and non-francophone users in Montreal and Quebec. Interviews will explore (a) innovative practices in service provision with interpreters used during the COVID-19 crisis and (b) barriers and enablers to the success of these practices. Interviews will be conducted by phone, skype, or in-person following Public Health guidelines, with assistance of an interpreter when necessary. Interviews will be audio recorded with permission of participants, transcribed verbatim, and translated into English or French. Interview transcriptions and interviewers’ fieldnotes will be analyzed thematically using NVivo 12. The perspectives of clinicians, interpreters, and users will be contrasted within and across practices and socio-demographic groups. Innovative practices will be classified using the Innovative Practices Evaluation Framework. Special attention will be paid to ensuring voluntary and respectful participation and confidentiality. Ethics approval will be sought from the CIUSSS West Centre Montreal and researchers’ universities. This study will identify innovative strategies for service provision through interpreters in times of health crisis, including digital innovations.

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Outputs:

• Ruiz-Casares, M. & Bentayeb, N. (March, 2022). Intervenir avec interprètes durant la COVID-19 : le point de vue des intervenant.e.s, des interprètes et des usager.ère.s [webinar]. Sherpa University Institute.

Making the switch to remote Interpreting

For the past six months, the COVID-19 pandemic has prompted the use of remote public service interpreting (R-PSI), a form of interpreting that was gradually being put into practice in Quebec’s health and social services network. R-PSI refers not only to the use of telecommunication technologies (such as videoconferencing, telephony, and web conferencing) that allow interpreters to deliver their services remotely but also to the specific communication strategies that require proper training. The goal of this study is twofold: 1) to develop two training programs (one for interpreters and one for service providers) as per recent R-PSI management and practice guidelines, and 2) to measure their impact on the satisfaction and collaboration of the professionals involved. The study will primarily ensure quality services for a clientele that is especially at risk, i.e., immigrants and refugees, during the COVID-19 crisis. It will also help ensure that Quebec’s health system makes the transition to R-PSI.

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Outputs:

• Unknown (2021). Travailler avex des interprètes à distance : les bonnes pratiques [webinar]. Québec, Québec, Canada.

• Unknown (2021). Interpréter à distance au temps de la COVID-19 [webinar]. Québec, Québec, Canada.

• Unknown (June 2022). Unknown [Oral communication]. 1er congrès international de l’EDIQ.