Community Interpreting and Translation for Healthcare: Community Co-Creation

Covadonga Lamar Prieto
Hispanic Studies
UC Riverside

This project brings together community groups, students, and UC faculty to design a 60-hour course in Spanish-English translation and interpreting for health environments. The course will prepare bilingual Spanish-English speakers in the community for job opportunities in health translation and interpreting. As they gain experience and further their education and opportunities for more competitive jobs, they will do so by putting value to the knowledge and expertise of their own communities. Materials for the course will be created in collaboration with community partners and UC scholars. Eight different organizations and community members, a visiting Fulbright Scholar, and six UC campuses—three established HSIs (UC Riverside, UC Merced, UC Santa Barbara), two 2024-eligible HSIs (UC Davis, UC San Diego) and one eHSI (UC Berkeley)—come together for the following intellectual agenda:

1. Honor the entanglement of language, culture, and healthcare by co-creating a translation and interpreting curriculum that recognizes how Spanish-speaking communities in California navigate and transform these intersecting systems.

2. Explore lived experiences, institutional barriers, and community knowledge through focus groups that illuminate specific healthcare needs.

3. Cultivate learning spaces that acknowledge the entangled nature of professional skills, cultural wealth, and community healing practices.