Doctors' use of euphemisms and their impact on patients' beliefs about health: an experimental study of heart failure
| Autor: | Jane Ogden, Michael Tayler |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2004 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Rural Population medicine.medical_specialty Health Knowledge Attitudes Practice Adolescent Cross-sectional study Attitude of Health Personnel media_common.quotation_subject Compromise Anxiety Truth Disclosure Choice Behavior Nursing Surveys and Questionnaires Adaptation Psychological medicine Openness to experience Humans Psychiatry media_common Aged Aged 80 and over Heart Failure Physician-Patient Relations Primary Health Care business.industry Depression Communication Physicians Family General Medicine Fear Middle Aged medicine.disease Euphemism United Kingdom Semantics Dilemma Cross-Sectional Studies Feeling Heart failure Female business Attitude to Health |
| Zdroj: | Patient education and counseling. 57(3) |
| ISSN: | 0738-3991 |
| Popis: | Doctors often use a range of euphemisms as a means to facilitate communication in the consultation. The present experimental study aimed to assess whether GPS use or avoid the term 'heart failure' and to evaluate the relative impact of the term 'heart failure' Versus their preferred euphemism on patients' belief's about the illness. This two part study involved a cross sectional Survey of GPs and all experimental Study of patients' beliefs and was based oil one General Practice in a semi-rural area of the UK. For the first part, 42 GPs completed a questionnaire about their preferred terms to describe symptoms of heart failure. The results showed that GPs rated the majority of euphemisms as preferable to the term 'heart failure'. Their preferred euphemism was 'fluid oil your lungs as your heart is not pumping hard enough'. For the second part, 447 patients completed ratings of their beliefs about a condition, which was described its either 'heart failure' or the GPs' preferred euphemism. Patients who received the condition described as 'heart failure' believed that the illness would have more serious consequences for their life. that the problem would be more variable over time and that it would last for longer and reported feeling more anxious and depressed than those who received the condition described using the euphemism. GPs are encouraged to be open with their patients and to respect their experience. The choice of language, therefore, presents a dilemma for doctors. The term 'heart failure' may be in line with the Current climate of openness but may evoke a more negative response from the patient. In contrast, a euphemism may be less open but more protective of the patients experience. This study suggests that the area of heart failure may be one where GPs may chose to compromise openness for the sake of the patient's experience and that this fear of upsetting the patient is well founded. (c) 2004 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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