Journal
DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION
Volume 36, Issue 25, Pages 2127-2135Publisher
TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD
DOI: 10.3109/09638288.2014.892636
Keywords
Communication; engagement; ethnicity; health inequalities; interpreters; language; stroke; therapy
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Funding
- Homerton University NHS Trust
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Purpose: This study sought to explore English-speaking therapists' experiences of providing stroke rehabilitation to non-English speaking individuals in an urban area. Methods: This was a qualitative study using focus groups. Two focus groups were conducted. Participants included physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists and a psychotherapist (n = 13). A grounded theory approach was used to analyse data. Results: Factors affecting rehabilitation were categorised under themes of engagement, practicalities and social context. Subtle communication was identified as a core category that ran through all themes, illustrating therapists' use and interpretation of subtleties and nuances which a language barrier impeded. Providing rehabilitation across a language barrier was found to present significant challenges. Therapists perceived that assessment and treatment are likely to be delayed and limited in scope, especially regarding cognition and neurological communication disorders. A conceptual model of factors involved in rehabilitation across a language barrier was generated. Conclusions: Therapists perceive that rehabilitation is affected by a language barrier. The conceptual model illustrates the interrelationship between factors affecting rehabilitation provision when there is a language barrier. Subtle communication was found to be an important therapeutic tool which was lost across a language barrier, and may have broader relevance to therapeutic relationships in the field of rehabilitation. Further research is needed to gain insights into experiences of individuals receiving rehabilitation across a language barrier and to identify how to enhance the efficacy of rehabilitation for them.
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