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Shared decision-making in an intercultural context. Barriers in the interaction between physicians and immigrant
Jeanine Suurmond1, Conny Seeleman
1University of Amsterdam/Academic Medical Center, Department of Social Medicine, P.O. Box 22700, 1100 DE Amsterdam, The Netherlands. j.suurmond@amc.uva.nl
Patient Education and Counseling
|January 31, 2006
Summary
Intercultural communication barriers impede shared decision-making between physicians and patients. Addressing language, values, role expectations, and prejudices can improve healthcare communication.
Area of Science:
- Medical Communication
- Health Disparities
- Intercultural Healthcare
Background:
- Shared decision-making (SDM) is crucial for patient-centered care.
- Intercultural contexts present unique challenges to effective communication in healthcare.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify and describe barriers to shared decision-making in intercultural medical settings.
- To explore how these barriers impact the physician-patient relationship and healthcare outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Literature review on intercultural communication in medicine.
- Semi-structured interviews with physicians (n=18) and immigrant patients (n=13).
- Comparison of conceptual barriers with interview findings.
Main Results:
- Identified four key barriers: linguistic differences, divergent values on health/illness, dissimilar role expectations, and prejudices.
- These barriers significantly impede information transfer, diagnosis formulation, and treatment discussions.
Conclusions:
- Intercultural barriers disrupt critical aspects of shared decision-making.
- Enhancing physicians' skills in recognizing and managing communication limitations is vital for improving SDM in diverse patient populations.