Health and Language VI: Language Needs in Social and Health Care

There are about 7.000 languages in the world. It could be stated that language and culture diversity are inherently universal, and language diversity could be considered as inherently human. Therefore, language should not be considered as an issue without any relation to medicine or reserved solely to linguists. On the contrary, being the aim of health and social care the wellbeing of individuals and communities, to understand them (both the person and the society) language is required. In a multilingual environment, language is a global challenge, affecting both health professionals and patients, including migrants and linguistic minority groups.

The issue of language in health and social care can vary within different countries, owing to the cultural, political and economical characteristics of each country as well as the nature of each linguistic group involved. All this considered, the origins, values, characteristics, organization, and structure of every health and social care organization should be studied and considered, if an effective language planning is to be achieved. As it has been pointed out, the evidence on hand comes from different countries and perspectives, and consequently it is fragmented and dispersed. What it is valid in one country may not be valid in another. This global challenge has been discussed in the last years in our Summer Course `Health and Language´, with the participation of experts from the Basque Country and aboard.

Language rights of individuals and communities are not recognized in many countries, and therefore health and social care are only offered in the majority language. In other settings legal frameworks can be found in which language rights are recognized, but no more than at a theoretical or rethorical level. Thus, there are language policies, language plannings, specific plans focused on health and social care…but are they really effective? Is the evidence on hand being applied in the daily practice? Are patients´  language needs properly met?

In this Summer Course different proposals from different countries will be adressed, as well as their implementation and evaluation, being the language needs of the patients the starting point and the central focus of the conference.

Language needs could be defined as the language that each patient needs to receive high quality health and social services, in the whole process of care (at home or at hospital, from primary to specialized care); or in other words, the language she or he needs to deal with professionals and organizations. The lack of response to these needs may lead to harmful effects and thus humper a quality service. For this reason, it is the responsibility of the organizations and professionals to identify and to offer an appropriate response to these language needs.

Difference in common, unifying differences, language needs are a global but not a necesarilly homogeneus issue. Just as individual language needs may change, language communities may differ in different settings at an international level. Cultural safety could be mentioned as an example of this diversity. Aligned with cultural safety, it would be patient´s right to state his or her language needs, and to confirm if they have been really met. In other words, a shift in power relationships is required, from organizations and professionals to patients. Power relationships are, then, essential.

The concept of language needs has the aim to improve the quality of social and health services in a multilingual setting, in order to achieve optimal and equitable health outcomes. It is aligned with the model of patient centred care. It could be said that there is not a real patient centred care if the patient´s language needs are not identified.

However, in most cases the governments and societies establish the laws and rules over individual rights, i.e., language needs, although being a patient´s right , are conditioned by social, economical, political and cultural power relationships. To the extent that oftenly not even the patient herself or himself is conscious of his or her language needs. In the same way,  language is considered by many professionals and organizations as a minor and merely individual issue.

The the 6th edition of the `Language and Health´ summer course will be focused on this complex and diverse issue, with the goal of finding out and spreading what is being carried out to meet patients´  language needs all across the world. The course is adressed to nursery and medical students and health professionals, researchers, sociologists, sociolinguists, linguists and every one interested in language rights and justice.

Key words: language needs, language rights, language planning, language policies, language plannings, implementation, evaluation, cultural safety, power relationships, cultural safety, patient centred care.