Background: Newcomer families to Canada may face significant barriers when accessing healthcare due to limited proficiency in the mainstream language. This impacts health outcomes, access to services, patient satisfaction, and safety. Interpreter services are inconsistent and may not cover all languages adequately. Additionally, cultural or ethnic differences may affect trust in interpreters. To compensate, immigrant children often become language brokers for their families, translating across languages and cultures. The Canadian Pediatric Association has raised concerns that this practice may stress children, harm their mental health, and expose them to disturbing information.

Aims: Though healthcare providers should opt for professional interpretation services, community members have expressed concern that interpreters are not reliably available to meet the needs of their families. This places children in a position where they are burdened with bridging this gap without receiving sufficient support to do so. Within this context, this study aims to understand what support immigrant children need when they take on the role of language brokers.

Method: We recruited 13 participants aged 19–25 from immigrant backgrounds who had childhood experiences interpreting for their parents in healthcare settings. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with each participant, and data was analysed using thematic analysis.

Results: We will focus on themes that inform knowledge mobilisation strategies, such as barriers when accessing interpretation services, difficulties children encountered when interpreting, strategies used by healthcare providers that were viewed as helpful, and recommendations for developing knowledge mobilisation tools.

Implications for children and families: If your child interprets for you, it is important to recognise that this responsibility can be challenging and overwhelming. Our study aims to develop resources to help children navigate these challenges and advocate for better support for you and your family.

Implications for practitioners: As healthcare practitioners, it is crucial to recognise the significant burden on children interpreting for their parents and to actively seek ways to provide the necessary support and resources to help them in this role. There is also a need to advocate for systemic changes to better address the needs of families with significant language barriers.

Key words: children’s voices, communication, health, interdisciplinary, qualitative methods, vulnerable communities, well-being

This presentation relates to the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 16: Peace and Justice Strong Institutions