ℹ️ Skipped - page is already crawled
| Filter | Status | Condition | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| HTTP status | PASS | download_http_code = 200 | HTTP 200 |
| Age cutoff | FAIL | download_stamp > now() - 6 MONTH | 10.2 months ago |
| History drop | FAIL | isNull(history_drop_reason) | tooold |
| Spam/ban | PASS | fh_dont_index != 1 AND ml_spam_score = 0 | ml_spam_score=0 |
| Canonical | PASS | meta_canonical IS NULL OR = '' OR = src_unparsed | Not set |
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| URL | https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33674922/ |
| Last Crawled | 2025-06-05 22:43:40 (10 months ago) |
| First Indexed | 2021-09-29 04:14:59 (4 years ago) |
| HTTP Status Code | 200 |
| Meta Title | A Pragmatic Assessment of Google Translate for Emergency Department Instructions |
| Meta Description | GT for discharge instructions in the ED is inconsistent between languages and should not be relied on for patient instructions. |
| Meta Canonical | null |
| Boilerpipe Text |
Background:
Because many hospitals have no mechanism for written translation, ED providers resort to the use of automated translation software, such as Google Translate (GT) for patient instructions. A recent study of discharge instructions in Spanish and Chinese suggested that accuracy rates of Google Translate (GT) were high.
Study objective:
To perform a pragmatic assessment of GT for the written translation of commonly used ED discharge instructions in seven commonly spoken languages.
Methods:
A prospective assessment of the accuracy of GT for 20 commonly used ED discharge instruction phrases, as evaluated by a convenience sample of native speakers of seven commonly spoken languages (Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean, Armenian, and Farsi). Translations were evaluated using a previously validated matrix for scoring machine translation, containing 5-point Likert scales for fluency, adequacy, meaning, and severity, in addition to a dichotomous assessment of retention of the overall meaning.
Results:
Twenty volunteers evaluated 400 google translated discharge statements. Volunteers were 50% female and spoke Spanish (5), Armenian (2), Chinese (3), Tagalog (4), Korean (2), and Farsi (2). The overall meaning was retained for 82.5% (330/400) of the translations. Spanish had the highest accuracy rate (94%), followed by Tagalog (90%), Korean (82.5%), Chinese (81.7%), Farsi (67.5%), and Armenian (55%). Mean Likert scores (on a 5-point scale) were high for fluency (4.2), adequacy (4.4), meaning (4.3), and severity (4.3) but also varied.
Conclusion:
GT for discharge instructions in the ED is inconsistent between languages and should not be relied on for patient instructions.
|
| Markdown | # A Pragmatic Assessment of Google Translate for Emergency Department Instructions
J Gen Intern Med. 2021 Nov;36(11):3361-3365. doi: 10.1007/s11606-021-06666-z. Epub 2021 Mar 5.
### Authors
[Breena R Taira](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Taira+BR&cauthor_id=33674922) [1](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33674922/#affiliation-1 "Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, CA, USA. btaira@ucla.edu.") , [Vanessa Kreger](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Kreger+V&cauthor_id=33674922) [2](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33674922/#affiliation-2 "Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, CA, USA.") , [Aristides Orue](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Orue+A&cauthor_id=33674922) [2](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33674922/#affiliation-2 "Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, CA, USA.") , [Lisa C Diamond](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=Diamond+LC&cauthor_id=33674922) [3](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33674922/#affiliation-3 "Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.")
### Affiliations
- 1 Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, CA, USA. btaira@ucla.edu.
- 2 Olive View-UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, CA, USA.
- 3 Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY, USA.
- PMID: [33674922](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33674922/)
- PMCID: [PMC8606479](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8606479/)
- DOI: [10\.1007/s11606-021-06666-z](https://doi.org/10.1007/s11606-021-06666-z)
## Abstract
**Background:** Because many hospitals have no mechanism for written translation, ED providers resort to the use of automated translation software, such as Google Translate (GT) for patient instructions. A recent study of discharge instructions in Spanish and Chinese suggested that accuracy rates of Google Translate (GT) were high.
**Study objective:** To perform a pragmatic assessment of GT for the written translation of commonly used ED discharge instructions in seven commonly spoken languages.
**Methods:** A prospective assessment of the accuracy of GT for 20 commonly used ED discharge instruction phrases, as evaluated by a convenience sample of native speakers of seven commonly spoken languages (Spanish, Chinese, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Korean, Armenian, and Farsi). Translations were evaluated using a previously validated matrix for scoring machine translation, containing 5-point Likert scales for fluency, adequacy, meaning, and severity, in addition to a dichotomous assessment of retention of the overall meaning.
**Results:** Twenty volunteers evaluated 400 google translated discharge statements. Volunteers were 50% female and spoke Spanish (5), Armenian (2), Chinese (3), Tagalog (4), Korean (2), and Farsi (2). The overall meaning was retained for 82.5% (330/400) of the translations. Spanish had the highest accuracy rate (94%), followed by Tagalog (90%), Korean (82.5%), Chinese (81.7%), Farsi (67.5%), and Armenian (55%). Mean Likert scores (on a 5-point scale) were high for fluency (4.2), adequacy (4.4), meaning (4.3), and severity (4.3) but also varied.
**Conclusion:** GT for discharge instructions in the ED is inconsistent between languages and should not be relied on for patient instructions.
**Keywords:** communication barriers; language services; machine translation; translation.
© 2021. The Author(s).
## MeSH terms
- Emergency Service, Hospital
- Female
- Humans
- Language
- Male
- Patient Discharge
- Prospective Studies
- Search Engine\*
- Translating\*
## Grants and funding
- [P30 CA008748/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/?term=P30+CA008748%2FCA%2FNCI+NIH+HHS%2FUnited+States%5BGrants+and+Funding%5D&sort=date&sort_order=desc "All articles for grant P30 CA008748/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States") |
| Readable Markdown | null |
| Shard | 129 (laksa) |
| Root Hash | 7295144728021232729 |
| Unparsed URL | gov,nih!nlm,ncbi,pubmed,/33674922/ s443 |