Cultural Adaptation: An Essential Step in Translation
What if you encounter a patient who routinely takes half of her prescribed dosages of medication because she feels that the dosage is set for a heavier “Western” patient, and not for her? How should written material for diabetes education be translated for someone who primarily eats foods that are not in traditional American diets? How can mental health education be presented to patients who consider it shameful or a weakness to disclose personal information to strangers?

When healthcare organizations translate this type of material for their non-English-speaking clients, it’s very important that any concepts that may be unfamiliar or strange are explained. Much of this may seem very straightforward to your American English-speaking patients and plan members, but to really communicate with your non-English-speaking clients you have to be aware of their cultural views and biases when it comes to healthcare. You may ask how you can be sure that your message is understood based on the target language and country of origin? This is when professional cultural adaptation of your materials is especially useful.

A good translation agency takes cultural adaptation seriously. It’s not only good protection against potentially life-threatening situations, but it also shows you care about the needs of each member of your healthcare clientele. When your communication to patients really shows an understanding of the nuances and concerns of the target culture, it improves the overall health education of your clients. It lets them take control of their own healthcare choices and helps ensure that you’re truly communicating and not just translating.

First Things First
Cultural adaptation is one of the most important issues in localizing content, and it should be considered an essential – and separate – step for any materials destined for a distinct ethnic target market. Consider elements such as idioms, humor, values, and symbols and how they should be adapted according to each target audience and country. It’s important to have this step performed early in the process, since it saves you from having to rework the materials later. It could be costly and time-consuming to get all the way to the actual translation before potential adaptation issues are identified and addressed.

As part of their Cultural Adaptation Services, cultural adaptation specialists within the translation agency can easily provide you with the feedback and research you need to evaluate and adapt your key marketing messages, names, slogans and graphics for your international target market. Your organization should be fully apprised of interpretations, connotations, associations, and potential messaging confusion in each target culture and demographic.

Cultural Adaptation Done Right
In addition to the use of U.S.-based translators who are native speakers of the target language, cultural adaptation specialists within the translation agency can easily provide you with the feedback and research you need to evaluate and adapt your materials for immigrant target markets. Your organization should be fully apprised of interpretations, connotations, associations, and potential messaging confusion in each target culture.

For example, specialists can let you know about target cultures that might be reluctant to admit pain, or will not give “yes” or “no” answers about their symptoms. Your material can also be adapted to bridge the gap between Eastern and Western medicine, while including information about treatment using culturally appropriate terminology. For example, some Asian cultures are more likely to view sickness as an imbalance between body and nature, and folk cures for these imbalances are expressed as “hot and cold.” Also, knowledge of dietary habits and traditional foods can make patients more comfortable when learning about the control of diabetes, for example. Misunderstandings can be avoided by knowing these cultural differences beforehand and basing your communications on that knowledge.

Paying Attention to Nuances
Multicultural communication is more than just translating a healthcare insurance form or post-operation instructions. To help patients stay involved in their own healthcare choices, translation agencies must actually embrace the nuance of a culture. The most successful healthcare organizations demonstrate a deep understanding of – and respect for – different cultures throughout all of their initiatives.