Translators soften poor prognoses
3rd April 2013
Uncomfortable truths about patients’ cancer prognoses are getting lost in translation, with interpreters commonly “softening” or even “blocking” the doctor’s words, Australian research finds.
The in-depth analysis of consults with non-English speaking patients found 50% of prognostic information given by oncologists was altered when being translated, even by professional interpreters.
Just under one-quarter (23%) of information was never translated at all, while