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Cited by 72Interpreting and Communication in HealthcareIndigenous Health, Education, and RightsCultural Competency in Health Care

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From “stuck” to satisfied: Aboriginal people’s experience of culturally safe care with interpreters in a Northern Territory hospital

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Kerrigan, Vicki, McGrath, Stuart Yiwarr, Majoni, Sandawana William, Walker, Michelle, Ahmat, Mandy, Lee, Bilawara, Cass, Alan, Hefler, Marita, Ralph, Anna P.·2021·BMC Health Services Research
DOI 10.1186/s12913-021-06564-4PMC PMC8178868
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Abstract

Background: Globally, interpreters are underused by health providers in hospitals, despite 40 years of evidence documenting benefits to both patients and providers. At Royal Darwin Hospital, in Australia’s Northern Territory, 60-90% of patients are Aboriginal, and 60% speak an Aboriginal language, but only approximately 17% access an interpreter. Recognising this system failure, the NT Aboriginal Interpreter Service and Royal Darwin Hospital piloted a new model with interpreters embedded in a renal team during medical ward rounds for 4 weeks in 2019. Methods: This research was embedded in a larger Participatory Action Research study examining cultural safety and communication at Royal Darwin Hospital. Six Aboriginal language speaking patients (five Yolŋu and one Tiwi), three non-Indigenous doctors and five Aboriginal interpreter staff were purposefully sampled. Data sources included participant interviews conducted in either the patient’s language or English, researcher field notes from shadowing doctors, doctors’ reflective journals, interpreter job logs and patient language lists. Inductive narrative analysis, guided by critical theory and Aboriginal knowledges, was conducted. Results: The hospital experience of Yolŋu and Tiwi participants was transformed through consistent access to interpreters who enabled patients to express their clinical and non-clinical needs. Aboriginal language-speaking patients experienced a transformation to culturally safe care. After initially reporting feeling “stuck” and disempowered when forced to communicate in English, participants reported feeling satisfied with their care and empowered by consistent access to the trusted interpreters, who shared their culture and worldviews. Interpreters also enabled providers to listen to concerns and priorities expressed by patients, which resulted in holistic care to address social determinants of health. This improved patient trajectories and reduced self-discharge rates. Conclusions: A culturally unsafe system which restricted people’s ability to receive equitable healthcare in their first language was overturned by embedding interpreters in a renal medical team. This research is the first to demonstrate the importance of consistent interpreter use for providing culturally safe care for Aboriginal patients in Australia.

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Metadata

Authors
Kerrigan, V., McGrath, S. Y., Majoni, S. W., Walker, M., Ahmat, M., Lee, B., Cass, A., Hefler, M., & Ralph, A. P.
Affiliations
  • Charles Darwin University (AU)
  • Flinders University (AU)
  • Government of the Northern Territory (AU)
Corresponding author
Kerrigan, Vicki
ORCID
Venue
BMC Health Services Research
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2021-06-04
Volume
21
Issue
1
Pages
548-548
ISSN
1472-6963 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/s12913-021-06564-4
PMC
PMC8178868
OpenAlex
W3165530302
Cited by
72
References
4
Citations by year
2026: 9 · 2025: 20 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 14 · 2021: 1
FWCI
11.48
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • BMC Health Services Research (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Funders
  • Menzies School of Health Research
  • Australian Government
  • National Health and Medical Research Council (1142011, 1131932, 113193)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Interpreting and Communication in Healthcare
  • Social Sciences › Health › Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Cultural Competency in Health Care
Keywords
Aboriginal health, culturally safe care, medical interpreters, renal care, Aboriginal languages, Tiwi, patient empowerment, social determinants of health, equitable healthcare access, hospital communication, Northern Territory
MeSH terms
Allied Health Personnel, Communication Barriers, Hospitals, Humans, Language, Northern Territory

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