Patient-physician relationship in specific cultural settings

Excerpt

A strong patient-physician relationship positively affects healthcare outcomes [1]. This relationship is critical in the intensive care unit (ICU), where patients and families facing catastrophic events are often fearful of death [2]. Culture, defined in a Lancet commission as “the shared, overt and covert understandings that constitute conventions and practices, and the ideas, symbols, and concrete artefacts that sustain conventions and practices, and make them meaningful” affects how patients interact with physicians [3]. A deeper understanding of culture on the physician’s part can enhance the patient-physician relationship [4]. This review will highlight selected models of culture and the patient-physician relationship, emphasise links between culture and religion and other factors, and suggest ways to enhance the patient-physician relationship regardless of the cultural setting. …