International conference for science and practice

Due to international and internal migration, as well as local ethnic diversity, most societies worldwide have a wealth of different languages at their disposal.

Nevertheless, patients who do not speak the same language as their healthcare provider are significantly disadvantaged in access to healthcare services and in securing adequate treatment quality. Health care providers often rely on family members or cleaning staff as interpreters or depend on machine translation.

Despite these challenges for patients as well as health care providers, most health institutions and health care systems lack standardized approaches to interpreting services, multilingual orientation, or policies that address linguistic diversity comprehensively.  By linking research, and clinical experience, the conference intends to develop strategies to improve health equity and strengthen global health systems.

The conference marks the end of a 5-year research project conducted in Germany, Netherlands, Romania, China and South Africa funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. The conference will feature international experts, cutting edge workshops, a best practice pitch session and a panel discussion as well as plenty of opportunity for encounters and collegial exchange.