دانلود رایگان مقاله انگلیسی تفسیر پزشکی: غفلت از حقوق بشر - امرالد 2017

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to highlight that the lack of a specific right to a medical translator under International Law can be considered an outlier when viewed within the context of the copious legislation regarding translation in general. Given the lack of specific legislation guaranteeing the right to a medical translator under International Law, the paper further aims to highlight the resulting effects on medical providers and patients. Design/methodology/approach – The paper opted for a detailed historical legal analysis regarding the history of translation under International Law in general, as well as specific international, intranational, and regional legislation regarding the right to a translator in medical settings. The data were complemented by a thorough review of documentary analysis of existing scholarship, detailing the experiences of medical providers and patients. Findings – The paper provides insights as to how international legislators have traditionally viewed medical translation: whether as a matter of international relations, access to care, discrimination, or as a fundamental part of the Right to Health. The paper finds that differing views on the subject have result in nations, regions, and medical providers having great discretion in deciding which patients are provided with a translator. The paper finds that such decisions are often made on a basis other than that of patient health. Research limitations/implications – Because the provisioning of translators in medical settings currently inevitably falls to a nation or single institution, research into which patients receive a translator and why lacks generalizability (because empirical data are not available for every region of the world). Researchers in future are encouraged to further develop the empirical evidence found in their regions with a more quantitative approach, documenting the non-provisioning of translators in their areas and categorizing the motives behind the decisions of medical providers in a given area. Practical implications – The paper includes implications for patients who have suffered adverse events after miscommunication (or lack of communication) with their medical providers. The paper aims to investigate in what venue may they seek legal remedy, and on what grounds. The paper also has implications for national and regional governments. Given the lack of binding International Law regarding medical translation, national and regional governments attempt to guarantee the provisioning of translators to some patients and not others. Such decisions may become political and have unintended consequences for medical providers and patients alike. Social implications – The paper includes implications for international legislators and national legislators. The paper also includes implications for medical providers and patients, as language barriers are becoming a more common feature in medical facilities around the world due to globalization and migration. The rate of patients suffering adverse events after not being provided with a competent medical interpreter is bound to rise. Originality/value – This paper fulfills a need to examine medical translation in the context of other types of translation under International Law. This paper fulfills a need to study how the lack of specific International Legislation guaranteeing the right to medical translation has implications for national/regional legislators, medical providers, and patients alike. This paper fulfills a need to discuss the legal remedies available to patients who have suffered adverse medical events after not being able to communicate with their medical provider.

Introduction: the Right to Health

Language barriers between patients and medical professionals are becoming an increasing feature of many healthcare systems around the world (Meeuwesen et al., 2011; Quan and Lynch, 2010). Many communities are facing a growing number of immigrants in hospitals and clinics, and the issue extends to ethnic minorities who speak other languages. Hearing-impaired and visually impaired citizens also commonly face language barriers. Healthcare professionals themselves are ever more likely to practice far from their home communities, which often implies that they have to communicate in another language. Those circumstances may result in a barrier to accessing care, medical error, or an outright denial of care for a patient: as such, the right to a translator in healthcare settings would seem to be given under International Law. Furthermore, the denial of proper translation has proven to lead to denial of preventative care, maiming, and even death (Price-Wise, 1998; Kelly, 2010).

Both the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR, art. 25)[1] and the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR, art.12 (2)(b,d)[2] specifically mention the Right to Health. The 1946 Constitution of the World Health Organization[3] preamble outlines health as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.”