Plain Language and Health Literacy Blog
Handling creative copy in healthcare marketing translations
In an exciting development for healthcare marketing translations, the American Stroke Association has officially adopted the RÁPIDO acronym for stroke detection! Even if you work in a subject area that has nothing to do with strokes, the exploration of this milestone...
The wide spectrum of multilingual healthcare support
Whether you work directly with patients, create educational and marketing materials, or facilitate insurance coverage, you may be able to offer multilingual healthcare support in more ways than you think. In a clinical setting, translating documents such as pre- and...
Navigating side effects of translation in healthcare
There is an unfortunately high number of ways that translation in healthcare can go wrong. We won’t dwell on the more obvious ones in this post since they’re, well, pretty obvious! It’s disturbingly easy to find news stories and social media posts about the alarming...
How to translate “living with HIV” and other questions for Spanish healthcare translations
The question of how to translate “living with HIV” might require a more complex answer than you’d expect for healthcare translations. For a translated pharmaceutical ad to receive promotional review committee (PRC) approval, we have to submit back translations into...
Spanish translation of diabetes information
If you’re looking into Spanish translation of diabetes information, you’ll be in excellent company. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has both English and Spanish versions of their “Diabetes” page, which include general information about the condition,...
When to use back translation
Back translation is often represented as a quality assurance method, but we encourage our clients to carefully consider when to use back translation. The nature of language and of translation means that back translation doesn’t necessarily guarantee or improve...
The crucial role of health literacy and translation in healthcare
Recognizing the intertwined nature of health literacy and translation is crucial for fostering a healthcare system that leaves no one behind.
Effective translation of patient guides
Effective translation of patient guides starts before a single word has been translated. When source materials are created without the consideration that they may eventually be translated, a potentially straightforward process can become more complicated, more time...
Achieving patient-friendly translation
Do you work in the healthcare space and you’re looking for patient-friendly translations? You’re not alone! This topic has crossed our desk more than once lately, from determining Spanish readability to questions about the Japanese translation for “fast heartbeat.”...
The importance of translating HIV information and breaking down barriers
Translating HIV information is pivotal in the global fight against HIV/AIDS as accurate knowledge serves as a powerful tool. However, accessibility to this information isn't universal. Language barriers, cultural differences, and varying levels of health literacy...