The use of interpreters in social services : A qualitative study about social workers treatment in conversations through third parties

The purpose of this study was to gain a better understanding of the opportunities and difficulties that appears in interpreted meetings and how social workers treatment of clients is affected whilst using interpreters. Furthermore this was examined by using social workers perspectives on the matter to gain a better understanding of how the use of interpreters affect their work. The study was conducted with six social workers in two different municipalities. We proceeded the study by using a qualitative method with semi-structured interviews. The choice of method enabled follow-up questions and in-depth answers. Furthermore, the result was analyzed with two different theories which are the theory of professional competence and the theory of communication. The results of the study showed that social workers treatment towards clients is affected both in a positive and negative way depending on the opportunities and difficulties. Whether that is directly or indirectly. We found that some strategies that social workers usually use like “small talk” is affected negatively. Depending on the opportunities and difficulties we found that social workers need to adapt their strategies to fit the context of the interpreted meeting. In addition to this we found that the social workers often see the interpreter as a helpful communication tool. Finally the study concluded that social workers are in need of education or some kind of informational guide in the use of interpreters to evolve the quality of interpreted conversations