Bilingual Health Communication

Elaine Hsieh holds a MA degree in Translation and Interpretation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies and a Doctorate Degree in Health Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She has worked as a telephone interpreter for the AT&T Language Line Services and as an onsite interpreter at many different hospitals, including the UCSF Stanford Health Care. She is a 2015-2016 Core Fulbright U.S. Scholar and an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Communication at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Hsieh has been involved in research on bilingual health communication for over 15 years. She obtained a 3-year NIH grant as the Principal Investigator to examine providers’ needs in interpreter-mediated encounters. The American Medical Association’s Office Guide to Communicating with Limited English Proficient Patients have adopted her work as the primary theoretical framework in conceptualizing different types of interpreters and their corresponding impacts. As a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar, She conducted research on the effects of language barriers for immigrant in Taiwan and is Associate Editor of Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health.

Interpreter-Mediated Medical Encounters as a Field of Research



Emerging Trends and Corresponding Challenges in Bilingual Health Care



Innovative Research Designs to Advance Theory and Practice



Conceptualizing Interpreters in Bilingual Health Communication



Model of Bilingual Health Communication



Interpreters’ Perception and Management of Competing Goals



Clinical Demands and Interpersonal Relationships in Bilingual Health Care



Interpreter-Mediated Medical Encounters as Goal-Oriented Communicative Activity



Moving Forward in Theory Development and Practice Recommendations