Hausa Language Services in Nigerian Healthcare: Developing Interpreter Training for Kano State Hospitals

Language barriers between healthcare providers and Hausa-speaking patients in hospital settings contribute to miscommunication, diagnostic errors, non-compliance with treatment instructions, and compromised patient safety, particularly where patients have limited English proficiency and medical staff are not native Hausa speakers. This study develops and evaluates a Hausa medical interpreter training programme for use in public hospitals in Kano State, addressing the identified gap in formal healthcare interpretation services. A professional applied training development design was employed, commencing with a needs assessment through interviews with 18 medical staff, 10 patient representatives, and 6 hospital administrators across three Kano State general hospitals, followed by a systematic review of medical interpreter training frameworks from comparable contexts. A twelve-session interpreter training programme was designed covering medical Hausa terminology, interpretation ethics, patient confidentiality, consecutive interpretation technique, and cultural sensitivity. The programme was piloted with 30 bilingual hospital staff volunteers at Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, with pre and post competency assessments and patient satisfaction surveys. Pilot evaluation findings show significant improvement in medical terminology command and interpretation ethics knowledge, with positive patient satisfaction feedback from interpreter-facilitated consultations. Recommendations include formal institutionalisation of medical Hausa interpretation services at Kano teaching and general hospitals, integration of medical interpretation training into health professions education at Bayero University's College of Health Sciences, and establishment of a Hausa medical glossary as a public healthcare resource. Keywords: Hausa language, Medical interpretation, Healthcare communication, Kano State, Interpreter training.