Hello all,

My name is Jordan Coriza, and I am Coordinator of Interpreter and
Translation Services at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health
(MPDH).
We have a translation protocol that was developed with a focus on health
education materials and social marketing. This protocol offers guidance
and best practices based on our professional experience and current
practices in the translation industry. I should also mention that other
states have adapted/adopted our model.

To download our translation guidelines and find supporting documents
(implementation presentation, glossaries, quality assurance form, peer
review guidelines, etc.), please go to
http://www.mass.gov/dph/omh/omh.htm

I hope this is helpful.

Please feel free to contact me with questions,

Jordan J. Coriza
Coordinator of Interpreter and Translation Services
Office of Public Health Strategies and Communications
Department of Public Health
250 Washington St. 5th Floor
Boston, MA 02108
Phone: 617.624.6063
Fax: 617.624.6062
http://www.mass.gov/dph/omh/omh.htm
  


-----Original Message-----
From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov] On Behalf Of
healthliteracy-request at nifl.gov
Sent: Friday, February 08, 2008 11:46 AM
To: healthliteracy at nifl.gov
Subject: HealthLiteracy Digest, Vol 29, Issue 6

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Today's Topics:

   1. [HealthLiteracy 1753] Wednesday Question: Health Literacy in
      the	schools? (Julie McKinney)
   2. [HealthLiteracy 1754]  online health files (Marg Rose)
   3. [HealthLiteracy 1755]  National translation standards?
      (Schneider, Janet M.)
   4. [HealthLiteracy 1756] Re: National translation standards?
      (Muro, Andres)
   5. [HealthLiteracy 1757] Re: National translation standards?
      (Lisa Bernstein)
   6. [HealthLiteracy 1758] Re: National translation standards?
      (Lorena Drago)


----------------------------------------------------------------------

Message: 1
Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:42:18 -0500
From: "Julie McKinney" <julie_mcKinney at worlded.org>
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1753] Wednesday Question: Health Literacy in
	the	schools?
To: <healthliteracy at nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <47AAE08A0200002D0000568F at bostongwia.jsi.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Hi Everyone,

I'd like to keep on with the topic of health literacy in the schools. We
know that health literacy issues stem from not just  literacy skills,
but also other things such as scientific knowledge, and civic awareness.
Both of these can and should be addressed in K-12. 

What do you all think about the need to do better in this respect? 
How can we work on it? 
What countries do better at health education, science and civics in
school?

Any K-12 health educators out there to comment?

All the best,
Julie

Julie McKinney
Discussion List Moderator
World Education/NCSALL
jmckinney at worlded.org


>>> "Davies, Nicola" <NDavies at dthr.ab.ca> 02/05/08 2:42 PM >>>

Jen,
your message reminded me somewhat of a scene in a recent hollywood movie
called Mean Girls, where the health education was taught in the school
gym. I think one of the lines is  "At your age, you're going to have a
lot of urges. You're going to want to take off your clothes, and touch
each other. But if you do touch each other, you *will* get chlamydia...
and die." Of course, one would hope that this is not how most sex ed
classes are taught, but at the same time, I think one of the reasons
that this scene proved so popular is because it's a familiar scene to
many teens in high school.

Of course, it's a caricature of the scenario, rather than an actual
representation, but it does highlight your example of health classes
being taught by non-health educators. I remember my sex ed in high
school was taught by a nun who subbed as a french teacher. 

-----Original Message-----
From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
[mailto:healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov]On Behalf Of Jen Kimbrough
JBKIMBRO
Sent: Tuesday, February 05, 2008 8:00 AM
To: The Health and Literacy Discussion List
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1745] Re: health literacy in the schools?


I couldn't agree more.  When I did my dissertation research a few years
ago, I did a retrospective qualitative study of health education in NC
public schools.  Bottom line - the state of health education in schools
is
abysmal... health education gets very little time, is frequently taught
by
non-health educators (usually coaches with no health education
training),
and the quality of the education experience is poor, resulting in
widespread health illiteracy.  I would argue that we need to start at
the
beginning and help folks develop health literacy skills throughout the
schooling process.

We did the project with immigrant youth last year as a starting point to
see whether it is possible to enact authentic health education in a
public
schooling situation.  Since ESOL classrooms have considerably more
freedom
than traditional classrooms in our system, it made sense to give it a
try.
I was deeply impressed with the way kids were willing to discuss the
social
and environmental conditions that compound issues of health literacy.
They
were wise beyond their years and the project gave me hope that it is
possible to have meaningful health education that kids (and adults) can
relate to and apply to their lives.

I'm still working on how we can advocate for change in a larger way -
anyone harboring some brilliant ideas they want to share?


Thanks,
Jen

Jen Kimbrough, PhD
Associate Director
Center for Youth, Family and Community Partnerships
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
336.217.9737



-----healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov wrote: -----


To: "The Health and Literacy Discussion List" <healthliteracy at nifl.gov>
From: "Cheryl Pasternack" <Cheryl.Pasternack at nychhc.org>
Sent by: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
Date: 02/04/2008 03:33PM
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1740] Re: health literacy in the schools?


Let's not forget that it is not only the immigrant youth who need to
learn
health literacy skills.  English-dominant youth are also lacking in
these
skills.

Cheryl Pasternack, CHES
Director, Grants Management
Lincoln Medical & Mental Health Center
234 E. 149th  Street, Room 4C-162
Bronx, NY  10451
Phone: (718) 579-5697
Fax:      (718) 579-4602
Email:    Cheryl.Pasternack at nychhc.org





>>> Jen Kimbrough JBKIMBRO <jbkimbro at uncg.edu> 2/4/2008 12:17 PM >>>

I am very interested in this topic too.  We have done some work with
immigrant youth and health literacy through ESOL classes with
interesting
results.  The kids we worked with were very insightful and had a lot to
say
about how health literacy impacted their families and their lives.  I
think
this agenda needs to be pushed, especially in light of NCLB legislation
and
the continued marginalization of health education in schools...

Jen Kimbrough, PhD
Associate Director
Center for Youth, Family and Community Partnerships
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
336.217.9737



-----healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov wrote: -----


To: <healthliteracy at nifl.gov>
From: lisa jones <lisamjones44 at hotmail.com>
Sent by: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov
Date: 02/02/2008 08:41AM
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1735] health literacy in the schools?




We spend a lot of time discussing work being done on health literacy
with
adults.  But wouldn't it be nice if people learned necessary health
literacy skills BEFORE they were adults?  So, I was wondering if anyone
was
working on health literacy among elementary, junior high or high school
students?  How are you approaching health literacy?  Through existing
health classes or by integrating health literacy education into math or
english curriculum?



Lisa

Lisa Jones, MD


----------------------------------------------------
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----------------------------------------------------
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Email delivered to ndavies at dthr.ab.ca

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------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 10:41:22 -0800
From: "Marg Rose" <bcmrose at telus.net>
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1754]  online health files
To: <healthliteracy at nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <NIBBJOMGKLCFFJPIEBKGKEAFDLAA.bcmrose at telus.net>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="iso-8859-1"

I'd like to echo the sentiment that using technology is a way to
motivate
adults to learn basic skills, and about their health.

www.healthyroadsmedia.org is a fabulous resource in many target
languages
that you can see, listen to, and interact with.

Our provincial government has created an on-line health guide in plain
language that lists common ailments and treatments that you or learners
could use for personal use:
http://www.bchealthguide.org/healthfiles/index.stm

For general on-line software and shareware reviewed by learners and
tutors
in literacy, you might click on the National Adult Literacy Database
(www.nald.ca) and search for the topic of interest, or check out their
treasure trove at:
http://www.nald.ca/resource/educational/category.asp?cat=19

YOu can sign up for their e-weekly updates of new resources on this
virtual
resource centre and literacy portal on their opening splash page
at:http://www.nald.ca/index.htm


Marg Rose, M.Ad.Ed.
Health Literacy Consulting Group
Victoria, BC




"Doing is a quantum leap from imagining."~ Barbara Sher
*********************************************



------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: Thu, 7 Feb 2008 15:23:11 -0500
From: "Schneider, Janet M." <Janet.Schneider at va.gov>
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1755]  National translation standards?
To: <healthliteracy at nifl.gov>
Message-ID:
	
<77238517D31F654E8860D4617D790F81021A948F at VHAV08MSGA2.v08.med.va.gov>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Do any of you know if there are national translation standards for
consumer health materials?  We are looking for any kind of translation
standards that can be applied to different languages, similar to the
"generic" English that news broadcasters use rather than dialects. For
example, is there a "generic" Spanish that everybody can understand,
rather than Mexican Spanish, Puerto Rican Spanish, European Spanish,
etc.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

 

Janet M. Schneider, M.A., AHIP

Chief, Library Service

James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital

13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

Tampa, FL 33612

813-972-7531

 

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Message: 4
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2008 06:52:00 -0700
From: "Muro, Andres" <amuro5 at epcc.edu>
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1756] Re: National translation standards?
To: "The Health and Literacy Discussion List"
	<healthliteracy at nifl.gov>
Message-ID: <CA29C5E82B801844A7A967D109F117CF278CAF at svrascmail01>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Actually no, and it is pretty tough to do. I was reviewing some stuff
for Astra Zenenca. They were translating some stuff into formal Spanish.
Some of the language would have been incomprehensible to the community
at large. I was trying to change it into more colloquial Spanish.
However, this is more communal. For example, I remember that they had a
recipe for healthy Cup cakes. I was looking for a universal translation
for cupcake. Well, there isn't one, and it was tough to find one that
would universalize the concept of cupcake. 
 
Not only does the language change, but the culture. I remember that they
had a Mexican soccer star to promote Nexium to Hispanics. They decided
to do a campaign for Hispanics in Miami, Florida. They went to little
Havana to do the promotion. problem is that Cubans don't know much about
soccer. For Cubans, a ball is palm size and you hit it with a bat. 
 
Foods change from country to country and the names for the same food
item do too. For example, a tortilla in Mexico and many parts of the USA
is a flat piece of bread made out of corn or flour. In the rest of Latin
America and Spain, it is very thick omelet usually made with lots of
eggs, potatoes and onions. Beans are frijoles in some places and porotos
in others. Peanuts are cacauates in some places and manies in others.
Cajeta means milk caramel in Mexico and sh__t in Argentina. Concha is a
shell in most of Latin America, but a derogatory term in some parts of
south America. The word Cojer means to grab or catch in some places and
to fornicate in others, and so on and so for. 
 
Of course, Spain claims that the official standard for Spanish is
defined by the Royal Academy of Spain which determines the "official
words" and appropriate phrases that must be used to articulate
something. However, when you write something in Royal Academy Spanish,
you end up with something totally incomprehensible to most. For example,
to them, a computer is an ordenador. To the rest of the Spanish speaking
world, a computer is a computadora and an ordenador is a very mean
person that gives orders to you. So, if you tell a Latin American that
they must use their ordenador to find information, they will think that
they must get help from their very mean assistant principal. A non
profit organization is an organization sin animo de lucro in Spain.
Animo means spirit in Spanish and in some cultures you do no invoke
spirits. Moreover, most don't know what sin animo de lucro means.
 
To translate stuff, you need to become familiar with the linguistic and
cultural choices of your community. In communities with multiple Spanish
speaking communities, you must figure out who your target is. In some
communities a dominant use of language emerges depending on the oldest
and largest community and often the linguistic choices of that community
may permeate the other communities. In other cases, they may maintain
some separation. You need to figure out each case.
 
When I was reviewing the Astra Zeneca documents, I would call people in
different parts of the country to figure out what the appropriate
expression would be in NYC, Miami, LA, El Paso, etc. If you need help
with this stuff, let me know.
 
Andres
 
 

  _____  

From: healthliteracy-bounces at nifl.gov on behalf of Schneider, Janet M.
Sent: Thu 2/7/2008 1:23 PM
To: healthliteracy at nifl.gov
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1755] National translation standards?



Do any of you know if there are national translation standards for
consumer health materials?  We are looking for any kind of translation
standards that can be applied to different languages, similar to the
"generic" English that news broadcasters use rather than dialects. For
example, is there a "generic" Spanish that everybody can understand,
rather than Mexican Spanish, Puerto Rican Spanish, European Spanish,
etc.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

 

Janet M. Schneider, M.A., AHIP

Chief, Library Service

James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital

13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

Tampa, FL 33612

813-972-7531

 

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Message: 5
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2008 09:30:18 -0500
From: "Lisa Bernstein" <lisab at whattoexpect.org>
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1757] Re: National translation standards?
To: "The Health and Literacy Discussion List"
	<healthliteracy at nifl.gov>
Message-ID:
	<da4079490802080630x7c8dc01ekce950a004e009c71 at mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Yes, one can translate Spanish into a dialect that can be understood
across
cultures - but it takes an excellent translator who really understands
the
different dialects (and as importantly healthcare)-- for example in some
South American countries the common way of describing a pregnant woman
is,
in another country, the way to describe a pregnant cow!

If you are looking for help Aracely Rosales of Rosales Communications is
the
lady to talk to.  She translated our Baby Basics into Spanish as Hola
Bebe,
and did focus groups and very carefully made sure she didn't hit any
language landmines.  She specializes in medical translation.  (I promise
I
don't receive a percentage of her sales - this is just my passionate
endorsement of real talent.)

We've also recently published Xiao Biao Biao the Chinese version of Baby
Basics - in partnership with the Charles B. Wang Community Health Center
in
Chinatown (NYC).  They too were able to create a written chinese that
transcended the different dialects.  Many of the same characters will be
pronounced differently based on the regional dialect, but it will be
read
the same.  Again, if you are looking for Chinese translation (and they
helped a great deal with many, many cultural changes too) they have an
excellent translation team.

In other words, use the best or no va.  (that's the great story where
the
NOVA car was not selling in South America and they all scratchd their
heads
at the car company until someone told them NOVA meant NO GO in spanish!)

On Feb 7, 2008 3:23 PM, Schneider, Janet M. <Janet.Schneider at va.gov>
wrote:


>  Do any of you know if there are national translation standards for

> consumer health materials?  We are looking for any kind of translation

> standards that can be applied to different languages, similar to the

> "generic" English that news broadcasters use rather than dialects. For

> example, is there a "generic" Spanish that everybody can understand,

rather

> than Mexican Spanish, Puerto Rican Spanish, European Spanish, etc.

Any

> thoughts would be appreciated.

>

>

>

>

>

> Janet M. Schneider, M.A., AHIP

>

> Chief, Library Service

>

> James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital

>

> 13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

>

> Tampa, FL 33612

>

> 813-972-7531

>

>

>

> ----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

> Health and Literacy mailing list

> HealthLiteracy at nifl.gov

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to

> http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/healthliteracy

> Email delivered to lisab at whattoexpect.org

>




-- 
Lisa Bernstein
Executive Director
The What To Expect Foundation
144 W. 80th Street
New York, NY 10024
212-712-9764
www.whattoexpect.org

Providing prenatal health and literacy support so that women in need
know
what to expect when expecting.
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Message: 6
Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:57:27 -0500
From: "Lorena Drago" <Lorena.Drago at nychhc.org>
Subject: [HealthLiteracy 1758] Re: National translation standards?
To: <healthliteracy at nifl.gov>,<Janet.Schneider at va.gov>
Message-ID: <47AC35970200002700014CDB at iadomvs.nychhc.org>
Content-Type: text/plain;	charset="US-ASCII"

Professional translation companies often used the term "Standard Latin
American Spanish" to encompass a general Latin American audience. I want
to emphasize that Hispanics from different countries can communicate
very well among each other despite the nuances in language. Of course,
there are many variations especially when conveying food and nutrition
messages that could cause confusion if misinterpreted. For example, for
many of you, the word "tortilla" evokes a visual image of a flat disk
made of flour or corn. In Spain, tortilla is a potato omelette. I want
to share an amusing yet eye opening anecdote. I am a faculty member at
the Colombian Diabetes Association Annual Meeting. A pharmaceutical
company had translated meal plans into Spanish, which were intended for
distribution. The meal plan suggested that patients have two snacks
daily. Snacks were translated into "bocadillo." In Colombia, "bocadillo"
is guava paste. The educational materials were not distributed despite
  the joy it would have given many Colombians with diabetes to snack on
guava paste twice daily.

The most important element of translation is translating the cultural
meaning of the message. Besides translation, you need to look into
"cultural adaptation" to make the message relevant instead of a literal
translation that may not be achieve the communication objective.  To
illustrate the point, I use this example in my presentations. The movie,
"Friday the 13th" has been translated into "Martes 13" - Friday is
"viernes" in Spanish and martes is "Tuesday" - So "Friday the 13th" was
translated into "Tuesday the 13th" Wrong translation? No. Culturally,
Latin Americans view Tuesday the 13th, not Friday, as a day of bad luck.
Friday is the end of the working week and a day for fun.

Overall, it is best to prepare documents in Spanish.  If it is not
possible to create documents in Spanish, use a professional translation
company and request "Standard Latin American Spanish" if most of your
customers are from Latin America.  First, consult with health care
professionals to ensure accuracy of health content and then convene a
group of bilingual individuals of different countries and provide them
with the English and Spanish versions of the document. Instruct them to
revise document for cultural appropriateness and make changes.
Communicating the essence of the message is more important than language
alone.

Thank you.

Lorena Drago MS RD CDN CDE


>>> "Schneider, Janet M." <Janet.Schneider at va.gov> 02/07/08 3:23 PM >>>

Do any of you know if there are national translation standards for
consumer health materials?  We are looking for any kind of translation
standards that can be applied to different languages, similar to the
"generic" English that news broadcasters use rather than dialects. For
example, is there a "generic" Spanish that everybody can understand,
rather than Mexican Spanish, Puerto Rican Spanish, European Spanish,
etc.  Any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

 

Janet M. Schneider, M.A., AHIP

Chief, Library Service

James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital

13000 Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

Tampa, FL 33612

813-972-7531

 


-----------------------------------------
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be taken in reliance on this e-mail, is prohibited and may be
unlawful. If you have received this E-Mail message in error, notify
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