An exploratory study on communication problems in interpreter-mediated consultations with migrant oncology patients

Effective doctor-patient communication is of paramount importance in healthcare as an indicator for care quality and for affecting health outcomes. Due to the specific problems inherent in cancer and the complex decision making during emotional and value-laden topics, effective doctor-patient communication in oncology settings is very challenging. Furthermore, literature clearly demonstrates that when physicians and patients do not share a common language, communication becomes even more challenging and numerous misunderstandings might occur. Despite the use of professional interpreters being associated with positive communication outcomes, studies have shown that even when professional interpreters are used, communication problems might still occur. These communication problems involving migrant patients in oncology remain under-investigated. For the above reasons, Lena’s PhD research focuses on the following research questions: 

- Which communication problems occur during interpreter-mediated consultations with migrant cancer patients? (WHAT)

- How and why do these communication problems arise? (HOW + WHY)

- What is the impact of these communication problems on the doctor-patient interaction? (EFFECT) 

Lena will start with a systematic literature review on communication problems in both monolingual and interpreter-mediated oncology consultations, in order to register a wide range of categories of communication problems that will serve to identify communication problems in the existing literature. This will enable her to identify and classify communication problems in the collected data. Three different types of data will be collected for analysis: i) video recordings of 30 interpreter-mediated consultations in oncology, ii) questionnaires for doctor and patient immediately after the consultation, and iii) semi-structured VSR-based interviews two weeks after the consultation. Focus group discussions with every stakeholder group will be organized to discuss the combined results of the analyses. 

Identifying and understanding the wide range of communication problems (WHAT), the ways in which communication problems occur (HOW), the reasons behind these problems (WHY) and the impact of the communication problems on the doctor-patient interaction (EFFECT) will allow us to develop a set of evidence-based recommendations on the delivery of care to migrant cancer patients and their families who need to rely on interpreters. The ultimate goal is to optimize the care for migrant cancer patients and their families who need to rely on interpreters by strengthening the inter-professional collaboration between doctors and interpreters. 

This study is funded by Kom op tegen Kanker.
It is a joint PhD at KU Leuven and Ghent University.