Clinician-interpreter collaboration in multilingual dementia assessments: Barriers, role boundaries, and clinician training needs.

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.