Machine translation in healthcare settings : potential, limitations and ethical implications

Lehr, Caroline; Gieshoff, Anne Catherine

Publication type:	Conference other
Type of review:	Peer review (abstract)
Title:	Machine translation in healthcare settings : potential, limitations and ethical implications
Authors:	Lehr, Caroline Gieshoff, Anne Catherine
et. al:	No
Proceedings:	NPIT6 Book of Abstracs
Conference details:	6th International Conference on Non-Professional Interpreting and Translation, Nicosia, Cyprus, 25-27 May 2023
Issue Date:	25-May-2023
Language:	English
Subjects:	Machine translation; Health communication; Digital Health; Digital Literacy; Medical interpreting
Subject (DDC):	410.285: Computational linguistics 610: Medicine and health
Abstract:	Machine translation (MT) is increasingly tested as a tool to facilitate the communication across languages in health care settings (Dew et al, 2018). However, today we know little about how MT tools are actually used by healthcare professionals and patients. In addition, there are rarely guidelines that would ensure an appropriate use of this technology (Vieira, O’Hagan, & O’Sullivan 2021). This paper will present results from an interview study conducted with Swiss healthcare professionals on their use of MT. It sets out to better understand the potential of MT in healthcare as well as the human value of interpreters in a communication setting in which intercultural and emotional intelligence are of utmost importance. Results of our study suggest that MT tools and human interpreters are deployed for different types of situations which can be distinguished according to their predictability, technical complexity, emotionality, and relational goals. Also, practical aspects like organization and financing of interpreters seem to play a role. While MT can facilitate access to healthcare, the limitations of MT tools also raise some issues. For example, they can lead to additional stress in patients and a loss of time for healthcare staff. Based on our results, we address the co-existence between MT tools and human interpreters from an ethical perspective and derive recommendations for the use of MT in healthcare that can help to ensure an ethical use of this technology.
URI:	https://www.ucy.ac.cy/npit6/wp-content/uploads/sites/292/2024/03/Book-of-Abstracts-NEW-WEBSITE.pdf https://digitalcollection.zhaw.ch/handle/11475/29383
Fulltext version:	Published version
License (according to publishing contract):	Licence according to publishing contract
Departement:	Applied Linguistics
Organisational Unit:	Institute of Translation and Interpreting (IUED)
Published as part of the ZHAW project:	Verwendung von maschineller Übersetzung im Gesundheitswesen
Appears in collections:	Publikationen Angewandte Linguistik

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Lehr, C., & Gieshoff, A. C. (2023, May 25). Machine translation in healthcare settings : potential, limitations and ethical implications. NPIT6 Book of Abstracs. https://www.ucy.ac.cy/npit6/wp-content/uploads/sites/292/2024/03/Book-of-Abstracts-NEW-WEBSITE.pdf

Lehr, C. and Gieshoff, A.C. (2023) ‘Machine translation in healthcare settings : potential, limitations and ethical implications’, in NPIT6 Book of Abstracs. Available at: https://www.ucy.ac.cy/npit6/wp-content/uploads/sites/292/2024/03/Book-of-Abstracts-NEW-WEBSITE.pdf.

C. Lehr and A. C. Gieshoff, “Machine translation in healthcare settings : potential, limitations and ethical implications,” in NPIT6 Book of Abstracs, May 2023. [Online]. Available: https://www.ucy.ac.cy/npit6/wp-content/uploads/sites/292/2024/03/Book-of-Abstracts-NEW-WEBSITE.pdf

LEHR, Caroline und Anne Catherine GIESHOFF, 2023. Machine translation in healthcare settings : potential, limitations and ethical implications. In: NPIT6 Book of Abstracs [online]. Conference presentation. 25 Mai 2023. Verfügbar unter: https://www.ucy.ac.cy/npit6/wp-content/uploads/sites/292/2024/03/Book-of-Abstracts-NEW-WEBSITE.pdf

Lehr, Caroline, and Anne Catherine Gieshoff. 2023. “Machine Translation in Healthcare Settings : Potential, Limitations and Ethical Implications.” Conference presentation. In NPIT6 Book of Abstracs. https://www.ucy.ac.cy/npit6/wp-content/uploads/sites/292/2024/03/Book-of-Abstracts-NEW-WEBSITE.pdf.

Lehr, Caroline, and Anne Catherine Gieshoff. “Machine Translation in Healthcare Settings : Potential, Limitations and Ethical Implications.” NPIT6 Book of Abstracs, 2023, https://www.ucy.ac.cy/npit6/wp-content/uploads/sites/292/2024/03/Book-of-Abstracts-NEW-WEBSITE.pdf.