Pharmaceutical Company Case study

Background

This recent multimedia project included the translation of a 48-page script and a voice-over recording of an IVR System for a contraceptive counseling line in 13 languages.

The Challenge

During the translation, editing, and proofreading process we discovered several pieces of text that could cause discomfort or personal embarrassment for a non-English speaking user. And of course, for many cultures, the sensitivity of the subject matter (contraception and sexual behavior) would have to be conveyed in a non-threatening manner to cultures where public or candid talk about sexuality is taboo.

Our Solution

We were able to provide several solutions that our client found to be extremely helpful for the project. We started by performing an in-house review of discrepancies and issues in the English text and consulted with our translation team to choose more culturally appropriate ways of discussing the subject matter. For example, “partner” was replaced with “wife” and/or “husband” and we omitted several terms related to sexual behavior. Our client approved of our decisions and once translation of this revised material was complete, we did a back translation of the same script by a native English-speaking linguist.

We were then able to move on to the technical challenges of this project, which included recruiting voice talent for the recorded portions of the material, coordinating studio and monitors for the recording sessions, creating files that were included in the Interactive Voice Response (IVR) System, performing final quality control (QC) and testing after “going live”, (in addition to randomized, sporadic QC and testing to make sure the materials were consistently correct), and lastly, we gave our client affidavits of accuracy for all thirteen languages.

Benefit to the client

Our client was able to successfully communicate with patients in a culturally sensitive manner and, most importantly, they were saved from the embarrassment of offending or alienating individuals who could benefit from our client’s counseling phone line.

Lessons Learned

No matter how uncomfortable the topic made us, our team of linguists remained at ease and professional in territory that they may have found personally uncomfortable because they knew that the temporary discomfort of working with sensitive material was small in comparison to the services that our client was going to be providing to the community at large.

Client Testimonial
As a Director of training programs, we have had various opportunities to develop materials tailored to the ever growing and diverse health care consumer community. We know that translation should be done by experienced, certified professionals who also keep in mind the cultural nuances of each sub-population. The professionals at Translation Plus are well qualified in this capacity.

R.B.
University of Medicine and Dentistry of NJ