Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
203,234 studies31 sourcesUpdated 47 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Frontiers in Public Health

TCM practitioners' perspectives on AI-assisted ad hoc interpreting in China: a qualitative study

  • Bowen Geng1
  • Shan Zhu2,3
  1. 1School of International Studies, Shandong Youth University of Political Science
  2. 2School of International Journalism and Communication, Beijing Foreign Studies University
  3. 3School of Interpreting and Translation, Beijing International Studies University
Read full textPDFDOICite

Abstract

Objective: Healthcare providers' perspectives on interpreting services offer critical insights for interpreters training and policy development. In China, AI-assisted ad hoc interpreting arrangements are the status quo; however, little is known about practitioners' perspectives on this mode in cross-linguistic TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) clinical practice. This study is part of an attempt to bridge that gap.

Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study design was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 TCM practitioners, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results: Six themes were identified from the data: information loss and diagnostic uncertainty; when equivalence fails, inequivalence emerges; redistribution of power and trust relations; communication barriers and professional identity erosion; necessary but suboptimal; and beyond interpreting toward understanding.

Conclusions: TCM practitioners reported considerable drawbacks in using “ ad hoc +AI” mode, with implications for clinical compromise and erosion of professional identity. There is a need for professional interpreting services to ensure that all individuals seeking TCM care can receive equitable care.

Related

  1. Experiences and perspectives of Ayurvedic practitioners on non-communicable disease management in the UK: A qualitative study
    Patricia Egwumba, Manpreet Bains, Laura Nellums +1
    PLOS OnePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textOncologySurgery & anaesthesiaPLOS
  2. General practitioners’ perspectives on barriers and facilitators of the implementation of the ANTIBIORESIST antibiotic stewardship audit and feedback intervention: a qualitative interview study among high prescribers
    Mehdi El Azrak, Aurélie Bocquier, Cécile Féry +4
    JAC-Antimicrobial ResistancePeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textGeneral biologyEpidemiology & public healthHAL
  3. “There is a Place for it”—Practitioners’ Perspectives on Situated Ethical Acceptability of AI Technologies for Mental Health Practice: Qualitative Study
    Abeer Alotaibi, Corina Sas
    JMIR Mental HealthPeer-reviewedCC BY 4.0Full textEpidemiology & public healthPMC
  4. “More than medicine — but when?” A qualitative study of how general practitioners assess, negotiate, and apply social prescribing in clinical practice
    Jeanette Wassar Kirk, Lisa Suvarna Oldrup, Ove Andersen +3
    BMC Public HealthPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Epidemiology & public healthCrossref
  5. Smoking-Attributable Mortality in China — Epidemic Stage as a Temporal Dimension in Interpreting GBD Estimates
    Gonghuan Yang, Xia Wan
    China CDC weeklyPeer-reviewedCC BY-NCFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMC

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{geng2026practitioners,
  title = {{TCM practitioners' perspectives on AI-assisted ad hoc interpreting in China: a qualitative study}},
  author = {Bowen Geng and Shan Zhu},
  journal = {Frontiers in Public Health},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.3389/fpubh.2026.1939217},
  url = {https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1939217/full},
  note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - TCM practitioners' perspectives on AI-assisted ad hoc interpreting in China: a qualitative study
AU  - Bowen Geng
AU  - Shan Zhu
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
JO  - Frontiers in Public Health
DO  - 10.3389/fpubh.2026.1939217
UR  - https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2026.1939217/full
AB  - Objective: Healthcare providers' perspectives on interpreting services offer critical insights for interpreters training and policy development. In China, AI-assisted ad hoc interpreting arrangements are the status quo; however, little is known about practitioners' perspectives on this mode in cross-linguistic TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) clinical practice. This study is part of an attempt to bridge that gap.  Methods: A cross-sectional qualitative study design was employed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 TCM practitioners, and the data were analyzed using thematic analysis.  Results: Six themes were identified from the data: information loss and diagnostic uncertainty; when equivalence fails, inequivalence emerges; redistribution of power and trust relations; communication barriers and professional identity erosion; necessary but suboptimal; and beyond interpreting toward understanding.  Conclusions: TCM practitioners reported considerable drawbacks in using “ ad hoc +AI” mode, with implications for clinical compromise and erosion of professional identity. There is a need for professional interpreting services to ensure that all individuals seeking TCM care can receive equitable care.
SN  - 2296-2565
ER  -