The Infona portal uses cookies, i.e. strings of text saved by a browser on the user's device. The portal can access those files and use them to remember the user's data, such as their chosen settings (screen view, interface language, etc.), or their login data. By using the Infona portal the user accepts automatic saving and using this information for portal operation purposes. More information on the subject can be found in the Privacy Policy and Terms of Service. By closing this window the user confirms that they have read the information on cookie usage, and they accept the privacy policy and the way cookies are used by the portal. You can change the cookie settings in your browser.
The purpose of this article is to address cross-cultural provider–patient communication difficulties and their subsequent interference with the quality of treatment. The work currently under way between the Western-trained medical profession and three underserved communities of Black South Africans accustomed to traditional medicine systems serves as the illustrative case. Specifically, in this international project, American psychologists are assisting highly educated, urban Afrikaner medical and health care professionals enhance the cancer treatment provided to rural, low-income Zulu, Tswana, and Pedi patients. This paper consists of several sections. The first section discusses the two cultures involved in the project, with an emphasis on facts about the underserved populations. The second section summarizes findings from the administration of translations of a quality of life instrument (FACT-G). The following section outlines key findings in the area of doctor–patient communication in the Western medical context and specific provider–patient research in South Africa. Communication patterns in medical contexts as influenced by culture as well as doctor–patient relationship expectations are the focus of discussion in the fourth section, and the next section presents related general cross-cultural factors as developed by Geert Hofstede and various multicultural psychology authors. The subsequent section provides additional information from Witte and Morrison on culturally influenced perspectives of health. The final section presents several overall conclusions and recommendations to further improve quality of treatment in cross-cultural contexts....
Set the date range to filter the displayed results. You can set a starting date, ending date or both. You can enter the dates manually or choose them from the calendar.