Language Barriers In Health And Social Care Essay

This book provides theoretical frameworks and practical examples from both English and non-English speaking countries on how to solve the problem of language barriers in the healthcare system when the country becomes culturally and linguistically diverse. Each chapter starts with a historical review, identifies a problem or issue, and then suggests a solution to the problem. After reviewing this book, I offer some reflections on the application of the book to the Taiwan context. Today, the numbers of international students, workers and other residents arriving from overseas in Taiwan have rapidly increased in the past 20 years. Of the 23 million people in Taiwan, about 5% were born overseas: 620,000 overseas workers, 80,000 international students, and 500,000 other residents. Alongside this continuous increase in the number of international students and workers, the Taiwanese birthrate has decreased to the lowest of any country. Continuous changes in the population composition of Taiwan amplify both cultural and language diversity. The changes also create language barriers and challenges to the healthcare system in Taiwan.