Good reproductive health is not only vital for successful and healthy livelihood, it is also a human right. Poor reproductive health has been linked to other diseases and illnesses including mental health needs.
To maintain one’s sexual and reproductive health people need access to accurate information that empowers them to make informed decisions regarding their body and to protect themselves from any diseases or infections.
Ensuring cross-cultural understanding
The purpose of this Sexual and Reproductive Health Glossary is to provide a standardized reference tool of SRH terms, translated from English into Dari and Pashto, that have been culturally validated and reviewed by a group of Afghan subject matter experts.
The glossary is intended for use by interpretation and translation companies, public health departments, and medical providers to help ensure consistent, cultural and linguistic appropriate translations of sexual and reproductive health terms. Our hope is that this glossary can help increase health equity in Afghan communities.
Features:
- Words and definitions in English that serve as a reference to ensure cross-cultural understanding of the terminology
- Rigorously translated and culturally validated terms in Dari and Pashto
- Colloquial expression reference to complement medical terminology, ensuring cultural and linguistic relevance
- Easy-to-navigate overview page with the complete list of terms and links to find the correct page quickly
- High-contrast design is easy to print in black and white or color
Phase One: Terminology and Definitions
A comprehensive list of commonly used terms relevant to sexual and reproductive health were collected through consultation with a subject matter expert alongside an internet search of relevant lists and terms. Once the list of terms was reviewed and finalized, the medical definitions for each term were recorded. Afterwards, the medical definitions were simplified, where possible, to increase accessibility of definitions.
Phase Two: Review of Glossary
The English version of the glossary was sent to three cultural validators (CVs) for their review of the terms and definitions. The cultural validators were asked to assess whether any of the content was culturally inappropriate and if the definitions were understandable for a lay person to facilitate accurate translation and/or interpretation. As a result of this initial review, a “colloquial expression column” was added to the glossary, as the cultural validators expressed that often the colloquial expression of SRH terms differs from the medical terminology. Where possible, definitions and terms were updated on the CVs’ feedback.
Phase Three: Forward translation to Dari and Pashto
The glossary was sent to a translation company for translation into Dari and Pashto. The glossary included the CVs’ feedback and notes to serve as a reference for the translators as they completed the translations.
Phase Four: Translation review
Language Access and Content Validation
The availability of accurate COVID-19 information that is culturally and linguistically relevant is essential to keeping communities safe. Health messages sometimes change rapidly and organizations may face challenges developing health messaging that reaches all communities, particularly refugees, immigrants, and migrants.
Working Toward Equitable Language Access
For many refugee, immigrant, and migrant (RIM) community members, navigating the complex U.S. healthcare system is challenging, even in normal times. During the COVID-19 pandemic, existing inequities in health and access to health care have been compounded by inadequate or insufficient COVID-19 information in languages other than English. To keep RIM communities safe, it is vitally important to convey information about COVID-19 and COVID-19 vaccines that is not only timely, accurate and accessible, but also culturally and linguistically relevant.
Staffing Agencies to Increase Language Capacity for CICT
Health departments are partnering with staffing agencies to hire multilingual case investigators / contact tracers and contract interpreters. Select this promising practice to learn how to utilize staffing agencies to increase the language capacity of your CICT team.