Influence of Interpretation on Patient-Healthcare Provider Communication and Management of Chronic Conditions in Kenya: A Case of JOOTRH Hospital Kisumu

The Ministry of Health in Kenya projects that deaths from chronic conditions will increase by 65% by 2030. To efficiently manage chronic illnesses, effective communication between patients and healthcare providers is of crucial importance. However, studies have shown that many patients lack knowledge about their conditions and the treatment processes. This study investigated the experiences of patients and caregivers while communicating with healthcare-providers on management of chronic conditions. The study was undertaken at the Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) in Kisumu County, Kenya. It adopted the relativist-interpretivist paradigm and qualitative approach to generate and analyze data. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to identify 10 patients and 5 caregivers who were drawn from patient support groups at the hospital. 10 healthcare providers were sampled. Data was generated through in-depth interviews and focus group discussions which were transcribed and analyzed using a thematic approach. Study findings indicate that healthcare providers were knowledgeable and believed that patients needed to be given relevant information. English was the main language used by health providers, which often created a language barrier among patients and caregivers who did not understand the language. This created opportunities for misinformation when interpreters were used. The hospital lacked trained interpreters, hence caregivers and hospital staff acted as interpreters. This was found to affect patients’ privacy and disclosure, especially where the patient did not want their health information to be accessed by a third party. Patients felt the information they received to be inadequate.