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With 20% of Canadians reporting a mother tongue other than English or French, it is not uncommon for health professionals and patients to be proficient in different languages. When a physician and patient cannot properly communicate, there is potential for misunderstanding, which can lead to poor clinical outcomes and hospital readmission. Professional interpretation services are associated with improved communication, health care use, clinical outcomes, and satisfaction with care.
Using untrained or ad-hoc interpreters—including family members—has been shown to increase errors of omission, substitution, editorialization, and addition. Children and youth are not sufficiently developmentally mature to act as interpreters in health care. Using children and youth as interpreters in health care settings places them in an inappropriate and potentially difficult situation that may have lasting negative effects on both their own mental health and their relationships with other family members.
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