When mimics and gestures are not enough: A picture-based aid for safe and effective communication in healthcare

Comprehensible communication is central to safe, high-quality and equal healthcare for all patients. However, language barriers are a major challenge for healthcare professionals and foreign-language patients and their relatives, and they have a negative impact on the quality of treatment.
Since professional interpreters are not always available and existing aids are only of limited use, an interdisciplinary research team from the Bern University of Applied Sciences has developed a prototype of a digital communication aid that supports picture-based communication in children's emergencies. The communication aid was developed with the participation of users in a participatory process.
In her input, Beatrice Kaufmann presents the development of the prototype and points out the significance of human-centred design in health communication.