ABSTRACT
Research on medical interpreting dates back to the 1970s; the majority has been carried out in the United States with occasional articles from Canada, Australia, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The research is multidisciplinary, with a substantial proportion carried out by medical professionals and sociologists rather than language specialists, and much is published in medical journals rather than translation or interpreting publications. A smaller proportion of research on medical interpreting has been published in Translation Studies journals, predominantly in John Benjamins publications such as the Interpreting journal, Critical Link conference proceedings, targeted journals and a small number of online journals. The World Medical Association (WMA) was established in 1947 and membership consists of 95 national medical associations. According to their website, the aim of the association is to promote "the highest possible standards of ethical behaviour and care by physicians, at all times" (WMA).
