Grappling with cultural differences; Communication between oncologists and immigrant cancer patients with and without interpreters

Butow, P; Bell, M; Goldstein, D; Sze, M; Aldridge, L; Abdo, S; Mikhail, M; Dong, S; Iedema, R; Ashgari, R; Hui, R; Eisenbruch, M

Grappling with cultural differences; Communication between oncologists and immigrant cancer patients with and without interpreters

Butow, P Bell, M Goldstein, D Sze, M Aldridge, L Abdo, S Mikhail, M Dong, S Iedema, R

Ashgari, R Hui, R Eisenbruch, M

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Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Patient Education and Counseling, 2011, 84 (3), pp. 398 - 405
Issue Date:: 2011-09-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Butow, P	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Bell, M	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Goldstein, D	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Sze, M	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Aldridge, L	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Abdo, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Mikhail, M	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Dong, S	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Iedema, R https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6792-1048	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Ashgari, R	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Hui, R	en_US
dc.contributor.author	Eisenbruch, M	en_US
dc.date.available	2011-01-28	en_US
dc.date.issued	2011-09-01	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Patient Education and Counseling, 2011, 84 (3), pp. 398 - 405	en_US
dc.identifier.issn	0738-3991	en_US
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/19047
dc.description.abstract	Objective: Immigrants report challenges communicating with their health team. This study compared oncology consultations of immigrants with and without interpreters vs Anglo-Australian patients. Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed incurable cancer who had immigrated from Arabic, Chinese or Greek speaking countries or were Anglo-Australian, and family members, were recruited from 10 medical oncologists in 9 hospitals. Two consultations from each patient were audio-taped, transcribed, translated into English and coded. Results: Seventy-eight patients (47 immigrant and 31 Anglo-Australian) and 115 family members (77 immigrant and 38 Anglo Australian) participated in 141 audio-taped consultations. Doctors spoke less to immigrants with interpreters than to Anglo-Australians (1443 vs. 2246 words, p= 0.0001), spent proportionally less time on cancer related issues (p= 0.005) and summarising and informing (p≤ 0.003) and more time on other medical issues (p= 0.0008) and directly advising (p= 0.0008). Immigrants with interpreters gave more high intensity cues (10.4 vs 7.4). Twenty percent of cues were not interpreted. Doctors tended to delay responses to or ignore more immigrant than Anglo-Australian cues (13% vs 5%, p= 0.06). Conclusions: Immigrant cancer patients with interpreters experience different interactions with their doctors than Anglo-Australians, which may compromise their well-being and decisions. Practice implications: Guidelines and proven training programmes are needed to improve communication with immigrant patients, particularly those with interpreters. © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.	en_US
dc.relation.ispartof	Patient Education and Counseling	en_US
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.pec.2011.01.035	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Public Health	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Humans	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Neoplasms	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Analysis of Variance	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Confidence Intervals	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adaptation, Psychological	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Communication	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Language	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Physician-Patient Relations	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Medical Oncology	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Culture	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Acculturation	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Tape Recording	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Adult	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Aged	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Health Services Needs and Demand	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Health Services Accessibility	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Australia	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Female	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Male	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Statistics as Topic	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Emigrants and Immigrants	en_US
dc.subject.mesh	Cultural Competency	en_US
dc.title	Grappling with cultural differences; Communication between oncologists and immigrant cancer patients with and without interpreters	en_US
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	3	en_US
utslib.citation.volume	84	en_US
utslib.for	2001 Communication and Media Studies	en_US
utslib.for	11 Medical and Health Sciences	en_US
utslib.for	17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences	en_US
pubs.embargo.period	Not known	en_US
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
utslib.copyright.status	closed_access
pubs.issue	3	en_US
pubs.publication-status	Published	en_US
pubs.volume	84	en_US

Abstract:

Objective: Immigrants report challenges communicating with their health team. This study compared oncology consultations of immigrants with and without interpreters vs Anglo-Australian patients. Methods: Patients with newly diagnosed incurable cancer who had immigrated from Arabic, Chinese or Greek speaking countries or were Anglo-Australian, and family members, were recruited from 10 medical oncologists in 9 hospitals. Two consultations from each patient were audio-taped, transcribed, translated into English and coded. Results: Seventy-eight patients (47 immigrant and 31 Anglo-Australian) and 115 family members (77 immigrant and 38 Anglo Australian) participated in 141 audio-taped consultations. Doctors spoke less to immigrants with interpreters than to Anglo-Australians (1443 vs. 2246 words, p= 0.0001), spent proportionally less time on cancer related issues (p= 0.005) and summarising and informing (p≤ 0.003) and more time on other medical issues (p= 0.0008) and directly advising (p= 0.0008). Immigrants with interpreters gave more high intensity cues (10.4 vs 7.4). Twenty percent of cues were not interpreted. Doctors tended to delay responses to or ignore more immigrant than Anglo-Australian cues (13% vs 5%, p= 0.06). Conclusions: Immigrant cancer patients with interpreters experience different interactions with their doctors than Anglo-Australians, which may compromise their well-being and decisions. Practice implications: Guidelines and proven training programmes are needed to improve communication with immigrant patients, particularly those with interpreters. © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/19047