Sociology of Culture Commons^™

Exploring The Boundaries: Attitudinal Autonomy In Healthcare Interpreting, Maria A. Aguilar-Solano

Maria Aguilar-Solano

Patients who visit hospitals on the southern coast of Spain range from social immigrants such as tourists and EU expatriate residents to economic immigrants from less developed countries. Both groups have in common their lack of ability to communicate in Spanish. However, while for the first group qualified interpreters are easily accessed, for the second there is a lack of them. As a result, healthcare interpreters must deal with many different agents and an ever-changing social context as regards the power relations that are constantly emerging between doctors and patients. This divergence affects the way interpreters are perceived by healthcare …