Simplifying phrases in depression screens: Interpreters’ views on usefulness in six languages

Abstract

Assessments and treatments of mental health conditions such as depression use language that may be difficult to understand or translate. Here, we studied how interpreters assessed the usefulness of simplifying the language of a depression screen. Two alternative versions of the PRIME-MD PHQ depression screen were generated, with increasing linguistic simplicity. All the versions (standard, moderately simplified and most simplified) were translated from Finnish into Arabic, English, Farsi, Russian, and Swedish. Ten professional interpreters then assessed the different usefulness aspects of the three versions. The interpreters’ perceptions of usefulness of the different language versions for clients varied, and both simplified versions of the depression screen were commonly considered useful for interpreting contexts. The usefulness of the simplified language versions was seen as especially important for clients with multiple linguistic challenges, caused by, for example, dementia and immigration backgrounds. The language of depression screens can be greatly simplified. Simplified versions may significantly improve the accessibility of questionnaires for the wide range of individuals with compromised language competence. Simplified versions may also be helpful for inter-language interpreting in health care, and importantly, they may facilitate the transparency and cross-cultural calibration needed in evidence-based medicine.