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.