Patient Surveys: Diversity in Medical Translation

Most patient surveys are developed for a homogeneous Western target population and fail to take into consideration the diverse cultures, languages and geographies of the actual patient pool. Yet, such surveys remain one of the cornerstones for evaluating patient experience and for patient-provider communication. Some situations and activities in patient questionnaires are not relevant or equivalent across cultures (back pain caused by shoveling snow, walking several blocks, doing housework). In other cases, terms need to be adapted for specific locales (“saubermachen” in Germany, but “putzen” in Switzerland for “cleaning”). These linguistic and cultural gaps are reason for serious concern and translators must learn to use cross-cultural adaptation to guarantee both conceptual and semantic equivalence to ensure the reliability and validity of patient-reported outcomes.

We will examine common problems that arise during the translation, back-translation and validation steps and tackle “untranslatable” concepts, idiomatic expressions and metaphors and degrees of linguistic deficiency and abstraction.

Translators already specialising in medical translation.
Translators considering crossing over into medical translation.
Translators who want to learn how to work on multilingual medical translation projects.

At the end of this session, participants will be able:

To adapt to the cultural and linguistic conventions of the target community.

To identify gaps in source-target correspondence and choose an appropriate in a medical context.

To apply free translation strategies to translate cultural references, idioms, and micro-level translation problems to bridge the linguistic divide.

No prerequisites.

What are patient surveys?
What process is used for multilingual international patient surveys?
How do you decide between meaning and effect?
What is plain language?
When is cultural adaptation necessary?
What is equivalence?
Why am I being asked to back-translate a survey?
What are the major hurdles and some strategies to overcome them?
Practicum and examples

To purchase your seat at this session please click on the "buy" button. Available slots are limited and will be assigned to registered and paid participants as soon as payment is reported. Early payment is advised in order to secure participation. Allow some time for payment processing if you are paying by wire transfer.

After your payment is received, your status will be changed to “registered and paid” and your spot for the session will be secured. An invoice and receipt of payment will be sent to you for your records.

How do I access the online platform?

72 hours before the webinar takes place, you will receive an invitation to join the session. Please, click the registration link or button provided in the invitation email and complete the registration form.

Virtual platform system requirements

For PC-based Users:

• Required: Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server
• Required: Internet Explorer® 7.0 or newer, Mozilla® Firefox® 4.0 or newer or Google™ Chrome™ 5.0 or newer (JavaScript™ and Java™ enabled)
• Internet Connection Required: Cable modem, DSL, or better Internet connection
• Recommended: Dual-core 2.4GHz CPU or faster with 2GB of RAM (recommended)

For Mac®-based Users:

• Required: Mac OS® X 10.6 – Leopard® or newer
• Required: Safari™ 3.0 or newer, Firefox® 4.0 or newer or Google™ Chrome™ 5.0 or newer (JavaScript™ and Java™ enabled)
• Internet Connection Required: Cable modem, DSL, or better Internet connection
• Required: Intel processor (2GB of RAM or better recommended)

To Use VoIP (microphone and speakers or headset):

• Required: Fast Internet connection (700Kbps or more recommended)
• Required: speakers or headset (USB headset recommended)
• NOT required: Microphone - attendees can communicate with the trainer through incorporated chat.

Recommendations

• For the visual section of the training course, we recommend that you have a 64kbps link. This means using an ISDN line or Broadband. Wireless connection is NOT recommended.
• For the audio section of the training course, we recommend that you have a headset or speakers.
• We recommend that you log in 30 minutes in advance of the start time to prepare for the training course.

Courses will be open half an hour before the start time. Please login before the start time to ensure that everything on your system is working correctly.

 Erin Lyons    View feedback | View all courses

Bio: Erin M. Lyons is a full-time French to English and Italian to English translator, medical writer, and consultant and the Owner and President of BiomedNouvelle. Her primary areas of focus include clinical research, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and cosmetic products and she has split her professional career between Europe and the U.S. She has a BA in Romance Languages and Literature from the University of Chicago and an MA in Italian and French Translation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies. She has presented at several ATA Annual Conferences, as well as at the 2011 World Congress of the International Federation of Translators and the 2013 ProZ.com International Conference (Porto) and 6th Annual Congress and Training in France (Biarritz).