Abstract:
The dynamic interactions and goal-oriented nature of Interpreter-mediated medical encounters have proven to be fertile ground for advancing the theories and practices of interpreting studies. Because individuals’ understanding of health and illness are culturally oriented and contextually situated, participants in interpreter-mediated medical encounters navigate the textual narratives as they negotiate layers of meanings and imbalance of powers in the shifting landscape of intercultural bioethics. Using data collected from provider-patient interactions and in-depth interviews, Dr. Hsieh will examine interpreters’ functions and ethical dilemmas in managing cross-cultural care.
About the Speaker:
Elaine Hsieh (Ph.D., University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2004; J.D., University of Oklahoma, 2019) is Professor and Chair in the Department of Communication, University of Minnesota and a Visiting Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. An award-winning author, Fulbright Scholar, and NIH-funded researcher, she has published extensively to examine the intersections of culture, language, health, and medicine in interpersonal and cross-cultural contexts.
Dr. Hsieh has served as the Associate Editor (Health Care Communication and Relations) for the Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health during 2010-2017. She currently serves on the editorial/advisory boards of Health Communication, Interpreting, and Journal of Intercultural Communication Research, among others. Her work has been published in Social Science & Medicine, Patient Education and Counseling, Health Communication, Qualitative Health Research, and others. Papers presenting her model of bilingual health communication have received several national and international top paper awards. She authored two books, Bilingual Health Communication: Working with Interpreters in Cross-Cultural Care (Routledge) and Rethinking Culture in Health Communication: Social Interactions as Intercultural Encounters. She has been invited to major national and international conferences to present her work in the areas of bilingual health care. She regularly serves as a reviewer for grants and funded research for government agencies and research institutions in the U.S. and around the world.
Background Reading (Publications):
Rethinking Culture in Health Communication: Social Interactions as Intercultural Encounters;
Bilingual Health Communication: Working with Interpreters in Cross-Cultural Care
