Online interpreter training improves dementia detection, new study reveals
Last updated on 21 February 2025
New research that investigated whether online training would improve the quality of interpreter communication during cognitive assessments for dementia has delivered positive results following a world-first trial.
The research, conducted by Australia’s National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) demonstrated that online training helped interpreters to play a key role in facilitating a timely dementia diagnosis.
Known as the IMproving INterpreting for Dementia ASsessmEnTs (MINDSET) study, NARI’s randomised clinical trial involved co-designing online training with Arabic, Cantonese, Greek, Italian, Mandarin and Vietnamese speaking certified and certified provisional interpreters.
The trial was conducted in collaboration with La Trobe University, University of Melbourne, Monash University, RMIT, University of Sydney, Royal Melbourne Hospital and the University of Newcastle.
Lead researcher and international expert on dementia within culturally and linguistically diverse communities, Professor Bianca Brijnath, said the study reinforces the importance of comprehensive training for interpreters involved in dementia assessments.
“With increasing dementia prevalence due to population ageing, interpreters are needed to facilitate timely dementia diagnosis by supporting the verbal and non-verbal interplay between health professionals and patients during cognitive assessments”, Professor Brijnath said.
“Our findings suggest that, with the right training, interpreters can significantly enhance their communication skills, ultimately leading to better outcomes for patients undergoing cognitive assessments.”
The findings are particularly important as Australia’s ageing population is also far more culturally diverse than ever before.
- Roughly 40% of people aged 75 or older speak a language other than English and have limited English proficiency
- Data from 2021 also stated that 52% of people living in the community with dementia did not speak English well or at all; just under a third of aged care residents reported the same limited proficiency
- People living with dementia can also revert to their first language, highlighting the importance of multilingual communication
Additionally, future projections estimate a 600% rise in dementia in certain ethnically diverse populations.
The research focused on any change in the quality of interpreted communication, as measured by a weighted score comprising 5 domains:
- Knowledge of dementia
- Cross-cultural communication
- Briefings and debriefings
- Interpreting skills for cognitive assessments
- Ethical principles relevant during a cognitive assessment
Participants were randomised 1:1 to receive interpreter training during the study or, if assigned to the waiting list control, after their six-month assessment.
Interestingly, initial results found that overall interpreting communication quality did not improve in the intervention group compared with controls.
But a secondary per-protool analysis revealed strong improvements amongst interpreters who completed at least 70% of the training. Their greatest gain was domain 1, knowledge of dementia.
These findings suggest that an online training intervention can improve interpreters’ communication quality during cognitive assessments for dementia if at least 70% of training is completed.
This can assist in securing timely and accurate diagnosis to ensure older people from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds receive appropriate post-diagnosis support.
The research aligns with a push to improve translated documents for older CALD people so they do not face barriers when entering or accessing aged care services.
PhD student Samuel Dakey, from Western Sydney University’s MARCS Institute for Brain Behaviour and Development, previously spoke to Hello Leaders about the importance of accurate translations.
“The necessity arises from the opportunity. If we don’t do it, culturally diverse older adults and their support networks will not get the services they require to continue living at home. This could include necessary, critical services that need to be addressed for cultural and linguistic reasons, but they otherwise miss out on,” he said.