Asylum seekers’ experiences of healthcare interpretation and translation services in the United Kingdom: a phenomenological study

Background People seeking asylum can experience poorer health outcomes than the general population and speak diverse languages which can create barriers when accessing health services. They require access to good quality interpretation and translation services to prevent an exacerbation of their poor health. This study aimed to understand how asylum seekers’ living in the UK experience interpretation and translation services when accessing healthcare.Methods Following a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, 15 asylum seekers in Northern England were purposively recruited. Data were collected via audio-recorded semi-structured interviews, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed thematically.Results We found that asylum seekers experienced persistent language barriers when making initial contact with the National Health Service (NHS) to seek health care. In the NHS system, asylum seekers experienced poor quality interpretation and translation support was inadequate They reported that this disrupted health care and led to the deterioration of health in some participants. As a result of inadequate services, participants relied on peers, hotels, voluntary sector staff, and Google Translate to help overcome the barriers.Conclusion Our findings highlight that asylum seekers were not satisfied with the quality of interpretation and translation services when accessing healthcare services in the UK. Service commissioners need to invest in high-quality and adequate interpretation and translation services to improve the experiences of asylum seekers while accessing healthcare services in the UK. For policy makers and service commissioners, we recommend prioritizing the training of interpreters in medical terminology, with knowledge of various dialects, and provision of written materials in participants languages. This includes ensuring language support is available for patients attempting to make initial contact with health services as well as people attending NHS appointments.