[ Re: https://www.hifa.org/dgroups-rss/assessing-language-barriers-health-faci... ]
I do agree with you that our African languages are limited in health communication. In Zambia for instance we have about 73 languages which you may is a plus while in Malawi you have 3 languages as you have hinted. I think having few languages could be Good except that it could be a Barrier when interacting with health workers, we did a study in Zambia about doctor- patient communication at language level. Our findings were that doctors and patients do not communicate effectively during patient clerking or history taking. (
Kenneth Lengwe CHANDA, 2009 (Communication for Development, MCD degree)
HIFA profile: Kenneth L Chanda is Associate Consultant and Lecturer at National Institute of Public Administration where he is lecturing in Records Management. He is co-author of The development of telehealth as a strategy to improve health care services in Zambia. Kenneth L. Chanda & Jean G. Shaw. Health Information & Libraries Journal. Volume 27, Issue 2, pages 133139, June 2010. He recently retired as Assistant Medical Librarian at the University of Zambia. klchanda AT gmail.com
[*Note from HIFA moderator (NPW): I did a search and found this paper, which I believe is the one to which Kenneth refers:
https://dspace.unza.zm/items/1f01a3ba-e380-416c-b261-be78557b4adc ]
