The significance of communication and care in one’s mother tongue: Patients’ Views

Languagebarriers in the healthcare sector, for example as a result of failure to use apatient’s mother tongue, can lead to misunderstandings and/or care errors, especially whencircumstances require that nursing staff or patients speak a language otherthan their own mother tongue. The aim of this study was to explore theimportance of patients receiving care in their mother tongue. A hermeneuticapproach was used and the method was inspired by content analysis. The data materialwas collected through semi-structured interviews with nine adult patients. Onemain theme and four subthemes were seen. The main theme related to that care ina patient’s mother tongue can enhance quality of care. To reduce suffering incare caused by language barriers, nurses’ language skills should be supportedand encouraged. Further research should focus on nurses’ perspectives on thesignificance of minority language patients using their mother tongue in anursing context.