Interpreters' experiences of general practitioner-patient encounters.
OBJECTIVE
To study interpreters' experiences of problems in cross-cultural communication with special regard to the general practitioner (GP)-patient encounter.


METHODS
A focus-group interview with authorized interpreters was carried out. A phenomenographic method was used in the analysis.


METHODS
Primary health care.


RESULTS
The interpreters displayed a number of problems mainly related to the difficulty in balancing the triad relation (GP-patient-interpreter), the role of the interpreter in relation to other healthcare staff, the time aspects of the translation procedure, and the problems of diverse health beliefs and cultural inequalities.


CONCLUSIONS
The interpreters notice a set of difficulties that need to be highlighted in order to improve consultations with cross-cultural GP-patient encounters.
Fatahi
Nabi
N
Department of Primary Health Care, Göteborg University, Sweden. nabi.fatahi@allmed.gu.se
Mattsson
Bengt
B
Hasanpoor
Jasaf
J
Skott
Carola
C
D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003142:Communication; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D004641:Emigration and Immigration; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010819:Physician's Role; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D013548:Sweden / Q000208:ethnology; D014175:Translating