How does DITA facilitate the translation of patient education content for diverse language-speaking patients?

November 10, 2023
|By Bryan Tipper

DITA plays a significant role in facilitating the translation of patient education content for diverse language-speaking patients. Its modular and structured approach allows for efficient content management, making the translation process smoother. Here’s how DITA supports content translation for diverse audiences:

1. Reusable Content Modules: DITA encourages the creation of reusable content modules. These modules can be translated individually and then reused across different documents. This means that common medical information, like basic health advice or medication instructions, only needs to be translated once and can then be used in various patient education materials.

Example:

In DITA, you can create a content module for “Medication Instructions” that includes standard information on how to take medications. This module can be translated into multiple languages and reused in various patient education materials.

<topic id="medication_instructions">
  <title>Medication Instructions</title>
  <body>
    <p>Take one tablet with water in the morning.</p>
    <p>Do not exceed the recommended dose.</p>
  </body>
</topic>

2. Localization Attributes: DITA provides attributes for localization and language identification. These attributes allow content creators to mark specific elements or topics with the target language. Translation tools can then identify these attributes and apply the appropriate translations during the localization process.

Example:

Using the “xml:lang” attribute in DITA, you can specify the target language for a specific paragraph within a patient education document:

<p xml_lang="es">Tome una tableta con agua por la mañana.</p>

3. Translation Management: DITA-compatible content management systems often integrate with translation management tools. This integration streamlines the translation workflow, making it easier to send content for translation, receive translated content, and update the documents with the translated content.

By implementing these practices in DITA, healthcare organizations can efficiently translate patient education materials into multiple languages, ensuring that diverse language-speaking patients have access to vital medical information in a format they can understand.