Communicating with patients from different cultures – Intercultural medical interview

Abstract

As the influx of refugees from the Middle East and Africa continues to surge, the European Union and the Balkan countries are becoming more diverse than ever before, both culturally and demographically. Changes that are taking place are affecting every segment of these societies, including health care. Due to this, it is imperative that healthcare systems and professionals reflect on cultural differences and provide adequate care and treatment to patients with diverse cultural values, behaviors and beliefs. In order to do this effectively, they must be trained because the goal of every healthcare system is to deliver the highest quality of care to every patient, regardless of their ethnic origin and/or skin color. Therefore, the significance of intercultural communication in health care is very important because appropriate health care delivery relies on clear, timely and meaningful communication, which is an essential element in every aspect of medical provision between the key stakeholders, namely patients, physicians, and other healthcare professionals. If, in any way, communication between health care providers and patients during the medical interview is unclear, the entire medical treatment process can be hindered. This paper addresses the very current topic of contextually suitable intercultural communication during medical interviews, which is necessary to foster maximum sensitivity among physicians towards their patients’ cultural differences.

Keywords: effective communication; cultural competence; health belief systems; intercultural medical interview