The team of health mediators and field associates under the program Family-Nurse Partnership implemented by TSA in Plovdiv went through a training course for effective simultaneous multicultural translation during home visits.
Since many of those who benefit from specialized support from nurses in Plovdiv – vulnerable pregnant women and mothers under 22 – speak mainly Turkish, often nurses count on mediators and field associates for translation during home visits. Effective translation and the presence of mediators are of vital importance for smooth communication between the nurse and the mother.
The one-day training was carried out by the program supervisors and a professional interpreter with solid and diverse experience for effective simultaneous translation. Participants joined in role play exercises and enacted several scenarios of home visits as they were guided and advised by the mentors.
In this way, the language barrier will cease to be such a severe issue for the Nurse-Family Partnership team in Plovdiv. Meanwhile, the mediators’ and field associates’ role is now being established as one of the most crucial elements in adapting and applying the program in the Bulgarian context.
The specialized support from nurses program has been carried out in Plovdiv since the beginning of 2019 in association with UMHAT “St.Georgе“. 60 families have already joined as we speak – mainly from the Stolipinovo and Sheker Mahala districts. TSA launched the program in Bulgaria in 2016, the other location being in Sofia in association with Second SOGHAT “Sheynovo”.