Localization of Online Patient Education Tools: Case Study

Client Industry:
Pharmaceuticals/Marketing

Project Overview:
Paragon was engaged by an interactive branding and marketing agency to localize a non-branded healthcare website for a life sciences client. The website provided critical healthcare information to patients across multiple disease states and therapeutic areas. Paragon’s role involved translation, cultural and linguistic consulting, localization, and QA testing, with a notarized declaration of accuracy for the final product.

Languages Involved:
Spanish for the U.S. Market

Project Duration:
3 weeks

Volume of Work:
12,500 words, 3 rounds of QA testing

The Challenge:

The client needed a reliable vendor with expertise in translating and localizing content for the pharmaceutical industry. The challenge lay in the original English website, which was written in an informal tone. This posed a problem because the intended Spanish-speaking audience required a more serious, professional tone to properly convey the critical health information.

Additionally, the content was filled with idiomatic expressions and "Americanisms" that would not easily translate into Spanish. These expressions would diminish the impact of the messaging and create confusion for the target audience.

The Solution:

Paragon’s first step was to conduct a Cultural and Linguistic Analysis to assess the tone, intent, and localizability of the content. This thorough analysis allowed us to identify areas that required adaptation for the Spanish-speaking U.S. market, ensuring the tone was appropriate for the subject matter.

Key steps included:

• Tone Adaptation:
  We adjusted the informal tone of the English copy to a more formal and serious tone that would resonate with Spanish-speaking patients while preserving the original intent of the message.
  

• Removal of Idiomatic Expressions:
  Problematic idiomatic phrases and "Americanisms" were removed and replaced with conceptual equivalents that would make sense in the target language, maintaining the integrity and seriousness of the content.
  

• Client Collaboration:
  We presented the client with a detailed report outlining our findings and recommendations for changes. The client had the final decision on which changes to accept and implement.
  

• Back Translation:
  To ensure the accuracy and completeness of our translations, the end client hired a third-party language provider to conduct a back translation of our work into English. This step validated the quality and consistency of the translations.

The Results:

Paragon successfully localized 12,500 words of healthcare content for the Spanish-speaking U.S. market, ensuring that the information was culturally relevant, linguistically accurate, and presented in a tone that resonated with patients. The project was completed within the three-week deadline, with three rounds of QA testing to guarantee quality.

The client praised Paragon’s ability to adapt the informal English content into a more formal, culturally appropriate tone while maintaining the message’s integrity. The back translation confirmed the accuracy of our work, and the notarized declaration of accuracy further ensured the client’s confidence in the final product.

Paragon’s cultural and linguistic expertise helped the client deliver a localized patient education tool that effectively reached and engaged Spanish-speaking patients, contributing to their overall mission of providing accessible healthcare information.

Conclusion:

This case study highlights Paragon’s expertise in localizing sensitive healthcare content for diverse audiences, ensuring cultural relevance, linguistic accuracy, and an appropriate tone. Through close collaboration with the client and a rigorous quality assurance process, we delivered a successful project that met the specific needs of the pharmaceutical industry.