Still lost in translation: language barriers in South African health care remain

Abstract

The patient-centred model of health care, which recognises patients’ autonomy, promotes their active participation in decisions concerning their own health, and strives to treat patients holistically, improves health outcomes but relies on effective communication between healthcare providers and patients. In a multilingual society, a major barrier to effective communication arises when healthcare providers and their patients do not share the same first language. This review aims to explore the impact of the language barrier on the effective rendering of healthcare services in South Africa, and to raise awareness that studies regarding language barriers within the South African healthcare sector are currently limited to isiXhosa in the context of English and Afrikaans, and has been conducted almost exclusively in the Western Cape. Research, therefore, needs to be extended to healthcare settings in the rest of the country, and needs to include all the languages and cultures protected under the South African Constitution. Moreover, there is an opportunity, and a need, for interdisciplinary collaboration between language practitioners and healthcare professionals to find viable solutions to communication challenges posed by linguo-cultural barriers within the multilinguistic South African population, in order to honour the right of every citizen to equitable health care.