December 15, 2008
Language, culture pose health-care challenges
Today's Tennessean has an article that speaks to the issue of how language and culture can affect healthcare.
Physicians often encounter patients who speak little or no English. Challenges arise on how to obtain consent for treatment and provide information on follow-up care. In one example the article shows how the lack of language resources can lead to a confused patient:
[Dr.] McKay recalls once having to treat a patient from Cambodia who suffered from an aggressive form of lymphoma that required chemotherapy. McKay tried to get "informed consent," but it was clear the patient — who spoke a dialect that couldn't be translated, and apparently had no family in Middle Tennessee — didn't understand the situation.
He treated the patient anyway because the tumor was growing so rapidly. On a subsequent visit, the patient was a bit upset and kept pointing to his freshly bald scalp, McKay said, adding that the cancer eventually went into remission.
Aside from the language issue culture also comes into play. In another example the article talks about how Dr. McKay will ask female patients from certain religious backgrounds if they would like their husband present during a breast exam.
Like Nashville, Cleveland, Ohio is an ethnically diverse area. Our own Center for Reducing Health Disparities is currently involved in a research project that is focused on improving the communication between healthcare providers and Spanish speaking patients with hypertension.
Posted by Staff at 09:00 AM
Category: Access to Care; Cancer Screening; Health Care; Health Disparities; Health Inequities; Heath Inequities; Immigrant Health; Linguistic Competency