Språk som hinder

: kommunikationssvårigheter mellan vårdpersonal och patienter som är immigranter med annat modersmål

Abstract

Background: When health care staff interact with immigrant patients who have a different native tongue language skills are sometimes not sufficient. Aim: The aim is to describe the employees’ experiences when communicating with patients with a foreign native tongue. Method: A literature review was carried out based on ten scientific articles. These articles were reviewed with a review model used by the Red Cross Collage. Result: Based on the given context the results were compiled into three categories: Language barrier as an obstacle for health care, here attention is drawn to the fact that a ”language barrier”, which occurs between employees and immigrant patients, is an obstacle in health care. Language barrier as a stress factor, emphasizes that the language barrier can create stress for the staff. Language barrier which requires temporary interpreters: a need and an obstacle, temporary interpreters are presented here, namely bilingual employees or patients’ relatives. This is perceived as a necessity and an obstacle when communicating. Conclusion: The Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare emphasizes that the healthcare staff shall give all patients good health and social care no matter the native language. The strategies to combat language barriers should be specific for different professionals. The need to use trained interpreters, in order to assure a satisfactory communication between personnel and patients, is important.  To fight the language barriers actions from researchers, decision-makers and healthcare staff are required.