Oral Presentation Smart Strokes Annual Scientific Meeting 2025

“No one is going to arrange an interpreter just to have a casual chat…”: Healthcare Professionals and Interpreters’ Perspectives on Providing Inpatient Care to People with Post-stroke Aphasia from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Backgrounds. (127600)

Kathleen Mellahn 1 2 , Samantha Siyambalapitiya 3 , Ali Lakhani 4 , Miranda L Rose 1 2
  1. School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia
  2. Centre of Research Excellence in Aphasia Recovery and Rehabilitation, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  3. School of Allied Health Sciences, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia
  4. School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia

Introduction: Emerging research has demonstrated differences in hospital care and outcomes for people with post-stroke aphasia from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds who require an interpreter. However, there has been limited exploration of the mechanisms underpinning these differences. Qualitative research is warranted to contextualise and explain these potential differences and highlight opportunities for practice change. 

Methods: Multidisciplinary healthcare professionals (HCPs) and interpreters caring for people with aphasia from CALD backgrounds were recruited from St Vincent's Hospital Melbourne using a maximum variation sampling approach. Participants engaged in semi-structured in-depth interviews that were completed online or in person. The transcripts of these interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis and overarching themes representing all participants’ perspectives were generated.  

Results: The final cohort (n=14) included ten HCPs and four interpreters. Seven themes were generated  which highlighted that care provision for this patient group is complex because it: requires complex consideration of language, cultural and personal factors; demands flexible adaptation of assessment and intervention practices in close collaboration with interpreters; is influenced by family involvement and; is challenging to do within existing time constraints. Participants perceived that these complexities resulted in compromised care quality and outcomes, including potentially negative experiences for the patients.  

Conclusion: Providing equitable care to people with aphasia from CALD backgrounds appears challenging for all professionals involved in their care and is limited by system level barriers.   Further research and health services level change is required to support equity for this vulnerable group of patients and to empower clinicians.   

Relevance to clinical practice or patient experience: Describes the nature of hospital care for people with post-stroke aphasia from CALD backgrounds