2024 | Track 2 | Ethical Dilemmas of Medical Interpretation in Indigenous Languages
TRACK 2 SEED GRANT | Whole Health Consortium
Ethical Dilemmas of Medical Interpretation in Indigenous Languages
TEAM:
- Dr. Rebecca Hester, Science, Technology, and Society
- Dr. Nick Copeland, History
- Cecily Rodriguez, Institute for Policy and Governance
- Dr. Andrea Briceno Mosquera, Institute for Policy and Governance
- Odilia Romero, Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo
- Silvia Ventura Luna, Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo
- Daniela E Obregón, Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo
- Luis López Resendiz, Comunidades Indigenas en Liderazgo
This research studies the ethical dilemmas that medical interpreters face when tasked with operating as neutral and objective conduits of information while also feeling compelled to advocate for the healthcare needs of Indigenous patients in culturally and linguistically concordant ways. When and why do medical interpreters decide to take a more activist role in clinical interactions? We hypothesize that the “idioms of distress” used by patients influence their decisions. Idioms of distress reflect interpersonal, social, political, economic and spiritual sources of distress; involve tacit communication; and include responses to therapeutic interventions. We explore this hypothesis in partnership with the preeminent Indigenous interpretation organization in North America. Our research responds to the lacuna on the ethics of interpretation in Indigenous languages, and advances health equity, social justice, and human rights for Indigenous peoples.