Cultural Competence and the Role of the Patient’s Mother Tongue: An Exploratory Study of Health Professionals’ Perceptions
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comunitat-uji-handle2:10234/8035
comunitat-uji-handle3:10234/8640
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Title
Cultural Competence and the Role of the Patient’s Mother Tongue: An Exploratory Study of Health Professionals’ PerceptionsDate
2022-03-23Publisher
MDPIISSN
2075-4698Bibliographic citation
García-Izquierdo, I.; Montalt, V. Cultural Competence and the Role of the Patient’s Mother Tongue: An Exploratory Study of Health Professionals’ Perceptions. Societies 2022, 12, 53. https:// doi.org/10.3390/soc12020053Type
info:eu-repo/semantics/articleVersion
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionSubject
Abstract
The role of the patient’s mother tongue in clinical communication is of vital importance
and yet it is not always dealt with adequately by healthcare professionals and healthcare systems.
Cultural competence should ... [+]
The role of the patient’s mother tongue in clinical communication is of vital importance
and yet it is not always dealt with adequately by healthcare professionals and healthcare systems.
Cultural competence should deal with and redress asymmetries in doctor–patient communication,
including those having an impact on the patient’s mother tongue. The aim of this study was to answer
a research question: what are the health professionals’ perceptions of the importance and role of the
patients’ mother tongue in diglossic situations? To answer our research question, we carried out two
focus groups, one with doctors and another with nurses working in public hospitals in the Valencian
Community (Spain) where two languages share officiality, Catalan and Spanish. Yet, Catalan is a
right and Spanish a duty. The results showed that perceptions of professionals in relation to the
importance of the patient’s mother tongue in situations in which two official languages coexist in an
asymmetric relationship vary a great deal and seem to form a continuum of positive and negative
judgements. Different values were represented in the participants’ perceptions, ranging from respect
for and full alignment with the patient’s perspective to negative perceptions. More qualitative and
quantitative research on health professionals’ attitudes and values is needed to understand the role of
the patient’s mother tongue in clinical communication. Educational and institutional efforts are also
needed to redress the linguistic and cultural asymmetries that have a negative impact on patients in
terms of inequality, inefficiency, and even exclusion. [-]
Is part of
Societies 2022, 12, 53Funder Name
Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities
Project code
PGC2018-098726-B-I00
Project title or grant
Creation of multilingual resources for improving doctor-patient communication in Public Health Services (HIPOCRATES)
Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
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