Overcoming Language Barriers in Healthcare: Use and Experiences of Translation Tools

Study information and data policy

For the online survey "Overcoming Language Barriers in Healthcare: Use and Experiences of Translation Tools”

What is the aim of the study?

This study explores healthcare providers’ experiences with translation technology in diverse healthcare and psychosocial settings, particularly in situations where language barriers impact communication with patients who have mental health needs. It aims to identify challenges, benefits, and factors influencing the use of these tools. Due to the consortium of the international research project, the survey is conducted in Germany, Romania, the Netherlands, and South Africa. The findings will support healthcare providers in improving the delivery of high-quality care to service users with diverse language needs.

Who can participate in the study?

Inclusion criteria for the study require participants to be 18 years or older and have experience working in a healthcare setting. This includes (mental) healthcare professionals such as psychiatrists, psychologists, nurses, social workers, and other related professionals. Participants should regularly provide care to service users who experience mental health problems and perceive communication difficulties due to limited proficiency in the dominant language(s).

How is the survey conducted?

• The survey is anonymous. This means that your information will be kept confidential. It is not possible to draw any conclusions about you personally.
• We are interested in your personal opinion. There are no "right" or "wrong" answers. If you find it difficult to decide on an answer, please give the first answer that comes to mind.
• Please try to answer all questions in full (if possible).
• We estimate that it will take approximately 5-10 minutes to complete the survey.
• Participation in the online survey will be possible from 30.09. - 31.12.2025.
• The online survey will be conducted using the online survey tool "LimeSurvey" (license from the University of Hamburg).

Risks and benefits of participation:

There are no indications that participation in the study is associated with disadvantages or risks. No direct personal or medical benefits are to be expected from participation. The responsible ethics committee (Local Psychological Ethics Committee, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, LPEK-0935) has ethically and legally advised and approved this research project.

No financial compensation or other forms of remuneration will be granted for participation in this study.

Voluntary nature and right of cancellation:

You take part in the online survey with your consent. Your participation is voluntary and anonymous. Non-participation will not result in any disadvantages for you. You can cancel the survey at any time without giving reasons and without any disadvantage to you. We will use the study data collected up to the point of cancellation.

Use of study data

The data collected as part of the study after consent is subject to confidentiality and data protection regulations following the European General Data Protection Regulation (EU GDPR). Participation is completely anonymized. Your survey data is automatically assigned a randomly generated ID. No personal identifying data will be requested or stored as part of our survey. Consequently, it is not possible to link your person to the information you provide in the survey. If you provide personal details in free text fields, we will anonymize them immediately. Only employees directly involved in the study have access to the data collected. It will not be passed on to third parties. We advise participants to take care of the security and protection of their own computers and to protect the clients they use against malware or spyware. The evaluation and publication of the study results in the form of a project report or in specialist publications is also carried out in anonymized and summarised form, which does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about individual survey participants. The legal basis for the data processing described here is your consent to participate in the study.

Liability, Insurance

As this is not a study to test a new medicinal product or medical device or a new field of application, no special study insurance (subject insurance) is provided for strict liability. Participation in this survey has no known psychological or physical risks. The general principles of liability apply.

If you have any questions about the online survey, please contact:

The study is conducted by:

University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf

Department of Medical Psychology

Research Group on Migration and Psychosocial Health

Prof. Dr. Mike Mösko

Principal Investigator

Martinistr. 52 (W26)

20246 Hamburg

E-Mail: mmoesko@uke.de

www.uke.de/miph

In cooperation with:

Babeș-Bolyai University, Romania

University Utrecht, Netherlands

University of Amsterdam, Netherlands

Data protection

Although this is an anonymous online survey, we must inform you below about all the necessary information and data protection regulations regarding your consent to participate in this study. Please print out this document for your records.

How we handle your data:

The study will only ask for general data to describe you. Personal identifying information such as your name, date of birth, or home address will not be requested. However, we do ask you for the following information for study purposes: Your year of birth, your gender, the country in which you work, your education and occupation. In addition, we will ask you questions about your experiences with multilingualism and strategies to overcome language barriers. This information will only be confidential for research purposes and will not be passed on to third parties. Results based on this information will only be published anonymously in summarised form.

The data collected as part of the study following the declaration of consent of the study participants is subject to confidentiality and data protection regulations. They are stored anonymized on data carriers at the Institute of Medical Psychology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. The retention period for the completely anonymized data is at least ten years after data evaluation or at least ten years after the publication of this study.

During the anonymization, possible identification features (any personal identifying information entered in free text fields) are deleted to exclude the participating persons' identification. The evaluation and use of the data by the study management and the project staff are carried out exclusively in anonymized form. Your data will not be passed on to third parties. You are responsible for protecting the clients you use against malware/spyware. Publication of the data collected as part of the study will also be completely anonymized.

Your rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

The personal data collected as part of the study after the study participant's declaration of consent is subject to data protection regulations. Below you will find the data protection declarations and information about your rights in accordance with Article 15 of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The legal basis for the processing of your personal data in clinical trials is your voluntary written consent in accordance with the GDPR and the Declaration of Helsinki (Declaration of the World Medical Association on Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects) and the Guideline for Good Clinical Practice. The revised Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG-new) comes into force in Germany at the same time as the GDPR.

Person responsible for data processing:

Prof Dr Mike Mösko

University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf

Department of Medical Psychology

Research group on Migration and Psychosocial Health

Martinistr. 52 (W26)

20246 Hamburg

E-mail: mmoesko@uke.de

Right to information: You have the right to information about the personal data concerning you that is collected, processed, or, if applicable, transmitted to third parties as part of the study (handing over a copy free of charge) (Article 15 GDPR, §34 BDSG-new).

Right to rectification: You have the right to have inaccurate personal data concerning you rectified (Articles 16 and 19 GDPR).

Right to erasure: You have the right to have personal data concerning you erased, e.g., if this data is no longer necessary for the purpose for which it was collected (Articles 17 and 19 GDPR, Section 35 BDSG-new).

Right to restriction of processing: Under certain conditions, you have the right to request restriction of processing, i.e. the data may only be stored but not processed. You must request this. To do so, please contact the person responsible for data processing or the UKE data protection officer (see below) (Articles 18 and 19 GDPR).

Right to data portability: You have the right to receive the personal data concerning you that you have provided to the person responsible for the study. This means that you can request that this data be transferred either to you or, if technically possible, to another organization designated by you (Article 20 GDPR).

Right to object: You have the right to object at any time to specific decisions or measures concerning the processing of personal data relating to you (Art. 21 GDPR, § 36BDSG-new). Such processing will then no longer take place.

Consent to the processing of personal data and the right to withdraw this consent: The processing of your personal data is only lawful with your consent (Article 6 GDPR). You have the right to withdraw your consent to the processing of personal data at any time without giving reasons. However, the withdrawal of consent shall not affect the lawfulness of processing based on consent before its withdrawal. Neither non-participation nor revocation will have any disadvantages for your treatment. In the event of withdrawal, your personal data must generally be deleted (Article 7, paragraph 3 GDPR).

However, there are exceptions according to which the data collected up to the time of revocation may continue to be processed, e.g., if further data processing is necessary to fulfill a legal obligation (Art. 17 para. 3 b GDPR).

If you wish to exercise any of these rights, please contact the person responsible for data processing.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority/authorities if you believe that the processing of your personal data violates the GDPR.