Abstract
This paper reviews the evolution and main strands of research on interpreting in health care, one of the most important domains of inter - preting in the community. The diverse body of literature generated since about the 1970s is first described with regard to different disciplinary perspectives and then surveyed in terms of thematic orientations, including a focus on the interpreting product, interpreter performance, communicative practices, and the provision of care. A number of examples are cited to illustrate both the breadth of content and the variety of methods used. The latter are then discussed from an overall perspective with regard to some broad methodological distinctions and choices.
Highlights
IntroductionHealthcare settings constitute one of the most important domains of community-based interpreting
Healthcare settings constitute one of the most important domains of community-based interpreting. It was in the field of health care that some of the earliest initiatives for the systematic provision of community interpreting services were taken, in the 1970s, and it was medical interpreters who, two decades later, formed the first specialized professional bodies for community-based interpreting outside the judicial domain
As indicated in the title, my intention in this paper is to offer a broad overview of research in the field of healthcare interpreting, with special consideration for methodological issues
Summary
Healthcare settings constitute one of the most important domains of community-based interpreting. It was in the field of health care that some of the earliest initiatives for the systematic provision of community interpreting services were taken, in the 1970s, and it was medical interpreters who, two decades later, formed the first specialized professional bodies for community-based interpreting outside the judicial domain Not surprisingly, this extensive field of practice has attracted considerable research interest, though not necessarily among scholars in interpreting studies, or translation studies in general. There is one literature to be surveyed, but various literatures, Franz Pöchhacker generated by researchers in a number of different disciplines Publications in this area include many descriptive contributions and discussions on issues of professionalization such as training, service management and professional ethics, which are essential to progress in the field but would not necessarily be regarded as (empirical) research. The latter will be discussed with regard to some broad methodological distinctions and basic choices in inquiry, with a few concluding thoughts on dominant themes and policy issues for further research
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