TY  - JOUR
A1  - Müller, Frank
A1  - Chandra, Shivani
A1  - Furaijat, Ghefar
A1  - Kruse, Stefan
A1  - Waligorski, Alexandra
A1  - Simmenroth, Anne
A1  - Kleinert, Evelyn
T1  - A digital communication assistance tool (DCAT) to obtain medical history from foreign-language patients: development and pilot testing in a primary health care center for refugees
JF  - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
N2  - Background: Language barriers play a critical role in the treatment of migrant and refugee patients. In Germany, primary care interpreters are often not available especially in rural areas or if patients demand spontaneous or urgent consultations. Methods: In order to enable patients and their physicians to communicate effectively about the current illness history, we developed a digital communication assistance tool (DCAT) for 19 different languages and dialects. This paper reports the multidisciplinary process of the conceptual design and the iterative development of this cross-cultural user-centered application in an action-oriented approach. Results: We piloted our app with 36 refugee patients prior to a clinical study and used the results for further development. The acceptance and usability of the app by patients was high. Conclusion: Using digital tools for overcoming language barriers can be a feasible approach when providing health care to foreign-language patients.
KW  - language barriers
KW  - app
KW  - interpreter
KW  - primary care
KW  - medical history taking
KW  - refugee
KW  - culturally and linguistically diverse patients
Y1  - 2020
U6  - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-200640
SN  - 1660-4601
VL  - 17
IS  - 4
ER  -