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

Abstract

Language barriers play a critical role in the treatment of migrant and refugeepatients. In Germany, primary care interpreters are often not available especially in rural areas or ifpatients demand spontaneous or urgent consultations. <i>Methods</i>: In order to enable patients and theirphysicians to communicate effectively about the current illness history, we developed a digitalcommunication assistance tool (DCAT) for 19 different languages and dialects. This paper reportsthe multidisciplinary process of the conceptual design and the iterative development of this crossculturaluser-centered application in an action-oriented approach. <i>Results</i>: We piloted our app with36 refugee patients prior to a clinical study and used the results for further development. Theacceptance and usability of the app by patients was high. <i>Conclusion</i>: Using digital tools forovercoming language barriers can be a feasible approach when providing health care to foreignlanguagepatients.