Image caption: The RDH hospital interpreters (L-R Shannon Paddy, Beatrice Jacky, Elah Yunupingu, Georgina Gellett, Patricia Paterson, Arlu Brown) on a recent educational visit to ICU. The team discussed ventilators, renal therapy, and feeding in the ICU and advised the ICU team on discussions of brain death and organ donation.
A collaborative research project between Menzies staff and Aboriginal interpreters is showing improvements for partners involved.
Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) hospital-based interpreters say they’ve benefited greatly from additional health education from the Menzies Communicate Partnership study team.
Menzies’s Communicate Study research assistant, Dr Leah Ginnivan, said interviews with interpreters highlighted several impacts including greater confidence at work, and increased enjoyment of their roles.
“Interpreters have also reported greater understanding of health concepts, anatomy and physiology, and the meaning of terminology they are asked to interpret,” she said.
In May 2022, Royal Darwin Hospital’s hospital-based interpreters requested additional health education from the Communicate Partnership study team to support their professional development.
Dr Ginnivan, a Resident Medical Officer (RMO) working as a research assistant with Communicate Study, took on the role of coordinating health education sessions for 5 RDH-based interpreters.
Skilled Aboriginal language interpreters are an essential part of safe medical care at Royal Darwin Hospital, with research showing that increased health education for interpreters has the potential to help attract, develop and retain the essential interpreter workforce.
The sessions were a mix of semi-structured ‘classroom’ teaching on a clinical topic, including heart, lungs and kidneys, brain and spine, gastrointestinal system, scabies, melioidosis and tuberculosis, and meeting clinical teams on the wards at RDH.
Dr Ginnivan said as well as the benefit of understanding more health and medical concepts, the interpreters also reported “enjoying meeting more clinicians and a greater sense of connection to the hospital workforce”.
The health education sessions are part of the Communicate Study, a partnership across the Top End which aims to improve Aboriginal patients’ experience and outcomes of healthcare.
Led by chief investigator, Professor Anna Ralph, the Communicate Partnership is a collaboration with NT Health, National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters (NAATI), the NT Aboriginal Interpreter Service (AIS), the Djalkiri Foundation and Menzies.
Dr Ginnivan said there have also been significant benefits for RDH clinicians in working with the interpreters, including communication skills development, deeper cultural understanding, and accessing the guidance and advice of the interpreters.
“Doctors who have been involved in the additional education classes have greatly enjoyed and benefited from teaching. Everyone who has come in has offered to come back for more,” she said.
As a result of these education sessions, new relationships are forming between medical teams and interpreters, with recognition of the value of interpreters in advising and shaping clinical practice.
“Several consultants have also sought feedback from the team on guidelines and policies relevant to patients from remote communities, and asked for feedback on communicating specific aspects of care,” Dr Ginnivan said.
“The interpreters have been very willing to share their expertise and guidance on these topics.”
To find out more about this ongoing project, head to our website: The Communicate Study Partnership - Menzies