Clinician-interpreter collaboration in multilingual dementia assessments: Barriers, role boundaries, and clinician training needs.
10 affiliations
- 1School of Humanities and Social Sciences La Trobe University Bundoora Victoria Australia.
- 2Division of Social Gerontology National Ageing Research Institute Parkville Victoria Australia.
- 3School of Global, Urban and Social Studies RMIT University Melbourne Victoria Australia.
- 4School of Languages, Literatures, Cultures and Linguistics Monash University Clayton Victoria Australia.
- 5Faculty of Medicine and Health University of Sydney Sydney New South Wales Australia.
- 6Faculty of Medicine Dentistry & Health Sciences University of Melbourne Parkville Victoria Australia.
- 7Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences Monash University Clayton Victoria Australia.
- 8School of Health and Social Development Deakin University Burwood Victoria Australia.
- 9Department of Medicine Royal Melbourne Hospital University of Melbourne Parkville Victoria Australia.
- 10Hunter New England Local Health District Newcastle New South Wales Australia.
Abstract
Introduction
Clinicians often work with interpreters when assessing multilingual patients for dementia. We examined factors shaping clinician-interpreter communication and which aspects of clinician practice could be strengthened through training.Methods
We interviewed 16 clinicians and 24 interpreters involved in cognitive assessments across Australia between May 7 and December 9, 2024. Data were analyzed using the framework approach.Results
Clinicians valued interpreters' expertise beyond language translation, including identifying language cues (e.g., pronunciation or word-finding difficulties) and mediating across cultures. In turn, they facilitated patients' and families' acceptance of interpreters. However, booking processes, interpreting modes (e.g., telephone interpreting), unclear role boundaries, and time constraints (especially for briefings and debriefings) limited communication quality. Both groups indicated that clinician training was needed to support culture-fair assessment and include interpreters as part of the care team.Discussion
Training clinicians to work effectively with interpreters may improve diagnostic accuracy and care for multilingual patients with dementia.
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BibTeX
@article{cavuoto2026clinicianinterpreter,
title = {{Clinician-interpreter collaboration in multilingual dementia assessments: Barriers, role boundaries, and clinician training needs.}},
author = {Marina Cavuoto and Nyssa Clarke and Simona Markusevska and Erika Gonzalez Garcia and Jim Hlavac and Lee-Fay Low and Robyn Woodward-Kron and Josefine Antoniades and Joanne Enticott and Andrew Simon Gilbert and Dina LoGiudice and Xiaoping Lin and Kerry Hwang and Jennifer White and Bianca Brijnath},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands)},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1002/dad2.70515},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908888},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Clinician-interpreter collaboration in multilingual dementia assessments: Barriers, role boundaries, and clinician training needs.
AU - Marina Cavuoto
AU - Nyssa Clarke
AU - Simona Markusevska
AU - Erika Gonzalez Garcia
AU - Jim Hlavac
AU - Lee-Fay Low
AU - Robyn Woodward-Kron
AU - Josefine Antoniades
AU - Joanne Enticott
AU - Andrew Simon Gilbert
AU - Dina LoGiudice
AU - Xiaoping Lin
AU - Kerry Hwang
AU - Jennifer White
AU - Bianca Brijnath
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/20
JO - Alzheimer's & dementia (Amsterdam, Netherlands)
DO - 10.1002/dad2.70515
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42908888
AB - Introduction Clinicians often work with interpreters when assessing multilingual patients for dementia. We examined factors shaping clinician-interpreter communication and which aspects of clinician practice could be strengthened through training.Methods We interviewed 16 clinicians and 24 interpreters involved in cognitive assessments across Australia between May 7 and December 9, 2024. Data were analyzed using the framework approach.Results Clinicians valued interpreters' expertise beyond language translation, including identifying language cues (e.g., pronunciation or word-finding difficulties) and mediating across cultures. In turn, they facilitated patients' and families' acceptance of interpreters. However, booking processes, interpreting modes (e.g., telephone interpreting), unclear role boundaries, and time constraints (especially for briefings and debriefings) limited communication quality. Both groups indicated that clinician training was needed to support culture-fair assessment and include interpreters as part of the care team.Discussion Training clinicians to work effectively with interpreters may improve diagnostic accuracy and care for multilingual patients with dementia.
SN - 2352-8729
ER -