Not necessarily. There are many issues that come into play when
"translating" from one language to the next.  Does the health concept itself
exist in the target language?  Reading a word in your native language does
not mean you comprehend the meaning of that word. Comprehension is our goal,
not word recognition. Many medical words are really Latin. How do you
conceptualize or visualize the word?  How do you describe it ---not define
it ---but describe it to someone who is not literate. Many of the health
materials are great, but the vast majority have *not *been developed by the
end-users. If we accept the statistic that 90 million people in the US are
health illiterate, we can be pretty sure that those 90 million are not
getting clear information even if English is their native language. More and
more literacy programs are integrating health literacy into their
curriculum. We have found in Minnesota that one of the best ways to start
closing the gap is the use of Community Health Workers. Interpreters are
required in a medical setting. But interpreters in the case of a large
portion of Deaf population are consiered to be "not enough." Most health
professionals only arrive at this Ah-hah! by working side-by-side with
patients, interpreters AND community health workers who are from the culture
of the patient and are able to bridge a multitude of linguistic and cultural
gaps. Look at the simple REALM health literacy test and see how simple the
words are that make up the 4-6th grade health literacy level. No amount of
brochures is going to make up for this. Even Medline Plus which has a great
selection of slides with English words and pictures is not written at a
simple enough level.  There should be no embedded clauses, no
"that"s/"which"....short sentences. Work with the grassroots. Ask them to
circle every word or concept they don't understand...and where's all the
pictures? We need more pictures and in color...and those brochures cost
more...



On 2/13/08, Julie McKinney <julie_mcKinney at worlded.org> wrote:

>

> Hi Everyone,

>

> Thanks for sharing all the information about translation standards. It got

> me to wondering about transfer of health literacy skills from one language

> to the next. If people have access to good quality health education

> materials in their home language, can that result in more effective

> communication, health learning and behavior change in the U.S. system?

>

> There are more and more good health materials available in a range of

> languages these days. Do these indeed help people stay healthier, even if

> they get most of their health care in English? Of course it is one of many

> factors, but I wonder what people think about this.

>

> Has anyone studied it? Have any ESOL teachers out there done activities

> where students look for information (content-based, like health) in their

> own language, and check their comprehension and ability to discuss the

> content in English?

>

> Let us know what you think,

> Julie

>

>

>

> Julie McKinney

> Discussion List Moderator

> World Education/NCSALL

> jmckinney at worlded.org

>

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