Recommendations and Practical Steps to Ensuring the Development of Non-English Materials

Federal law requires health care organizations to translate “vital” documents and to have “culturally and linguistically appropriate materials for limited English proficient patients.” Health care organizations continue to struggle to produce quality non-English materials and many are unaware of the current quality of their non-English materials. Often, those who commission the production of English equivalent documents have a poor understanding of the translation process. There is a dearth of tools to assess the quality of translations and a need for clear general standards. Researchers and practitioners agree divergent definitions of quality and a lack of consensus hinder progress in this area. Not surprising current approaches for assessing the quality of translations enjoy limited success and applicability. Practical tools are needed to help health organizations become more proficient in assuring quality health materials are produced for limited English speaking patient populations. Drawing from the literature and lessons learned from studying translation errors Hablamos Juntos, in partnership with Dr. Sonia Colina developed and tested a prototype tool to assess quality of translated text. This 20 minute workshop will outline challenges and solutions from the More Than Words Tool-Kit Series instruct participant on its use.