Simplifying phrases in depression screens: Interpreters’ views on usefulness in six languages
Ulla Vanhatalo, Camilla Lindholm · 2023
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Description
Depression questionnaires lose their meaning when patients cannot parse the wording or interpreters must wrestle it into another tongue. Ulla Vanhatalo and Camilla Lindholm asked ten professional interpreters to judge three versions of a standard depression screen. The versions ran from the original wording to a most-simplified rewrite, each translated from Finnish into five languages including Arabic and Farsi.
Interpreters found both simplified versions commonly useful, especially for clients facing stacked language challenges from dementia or migration. Views varied by language and situation, but the direction was clear: screening language can be simplified a great deal without losing its job. The authors argue simpler screens widen access for people with weak language skills, help interpreters, and support the cross-cultural calibration that evidence-based medicine needs.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Ulla Vanhatalo, Camilla Lindholm |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2023 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 33 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |