Evaluating the feasibility and utility of machine translation for patient education materials written in plain language to increase accessibility for populations with limited english proficiency.

Autor: Ugas M; Cancer Health Literacy Research Centre, Cancer Education, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada., Calamia MA; Interpretation & Translation Services, University Health Network, Canada., Tan J; Cancer Health Literacy Research Centre, Cancer Education, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada., Umakanthan B; Cancer Health Literacy Research Centre, Cancer Education, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada., Hill C; Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada., Tse K; Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada., Cashell A; Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada; Department of Radiation Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada., Muraj Z; Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada., Giuliani M; Cancer Health Literacy Research Centre, Cancer Education, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada; Radiation Medicine Program, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada; Department of Radiation Oncology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Canada; The Institute for Education Research, University Health Network, Canada., Papadakos J; Cancer Health Literacy Research Centre, Cancer Education, Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, Canada; The Institute for Education Research, University Health Network, Canada; Institute for Health Policy, Management & Evaluation, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto, Canada. Electronic address: Janet.papadakos@uhnresearch.ca.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: Patient education and counseling [Patient Educ Couns] 2024 Nov 20; Vol. 131, pp. 108560. Date of Electronic Publication: 2024 Nov 20.
DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2024.108560
Abstrakt: Background: Populations with limited English proficiency (LEP) face comprehension barriers with health information as navigating healthcare systems involves encountering health information that is written at high reading grade levels, utilizes complex medical jargon, and unfamiliar or abstract terms and concepts. Despite the serious consequences of language discordance there is limited funding available for the translation of patient education material in the public healthcare setting. In response to the imperative need to provide equal access to patient education materials to all patients, regardless of English language proficiency, some have raised the feasibility of leveraging machine translation software. This study investigates the feasibility and utility of using machine translation (Google Translate) to translate patient education materials written in plain language.
Methods: A sample of 5 patient education pamphlets were selected for inclusion based on their high usage and importance. These were assessed for their readability and translated by both human translators and using Google Translate into Spanish, Portuguese, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, and Vietnamese. Medical translators conducted blinded appraisal of both sets of translations on four domains.
Results: Spanish and Vietnamese language pamphlets achieved the highest overall scores. There were significant differences between human and machine translation in favour of the former for all of the languages, although machine translation scored above 3/5 in 90 % of the domains tested. There was no correlation between readability scores and translation scores.
Discussion: Google Translate performs well in multiple translation domains despite its continued inferiority relative to professional human translation. The high scoring of machine translated pamphlets, particularly in the most crucial domain of severity however, points to its potential adoption in a limited capacity in healthcare settings, with processes in place, like pre-screening for high-risk content that may pose a threat to patient well-being.
Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors have declared no conflicts of interest and that this review was completed with all ethical considerations.
(Copyright © 2024 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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