Due to poor communications, there is an unequal medical treatment based on racial and ethical disparities, which is the most leading cause of death among the immigrants, especially the African Americans compared to the whites. The main factor is the patient-clinician communication (PCC) and its possible part in creating and reducing healthcare disparities. There is an excellent connection between quality patient-clinician communication and medical adherence, satisfaction with care, and health incomes, which raise alarms given an indication of poor-quality PCC experienced by socioeconomically disadvantaged populations and racial/ethnic minorities.
Principles
We can conclude that Excellence PCC is based on seven elementary principles. When one is in a supportive environment, there are higher chances of being free and communicating effectively than in an unsupportive environment. Transparency and full disclosure are other principles that can bring about useful services—being transparent means that the information is fully disclosed and knows what is to be done. When both the patient and clinician are evident and disclose every critical information, trust is built, and the medication or treatment becomes efficient. Mutual respect and appropriate decision partners also build confidence, where the patient and clinicians can trust one another and support each other accordingly. With mutual respect, the patient and clinicians will avoid misunderstanding and proper communication with a common goal of achieving standard health care and continuous learning between the clinicians and the patients.
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Patient Factors
Patient factors to consider in clinical health are race, family background, language proficiency, and beliefs. Most immigrants learn English as a second language, which may not be perfect and might affect communication. The background should also be considered in terms of wealth and health. Some might come from places with war and might have trauma, while others cannot afford proper health and food. Religious and cultural beliefs might stop them from seeking health care services.
Clinician Factors
The cultural competency determines how a clinician will offer services. Incase the clinician has poor communication skills or has unconscious Bias, which is the perception of unfair treatment in social interaction and communication to race or ethnicity minorities affects the services provided to these patients. These kinds of discrimination can lead to low services or insufficient medical attention.
Strides to Break the Language Barrier
. To increase access to language service, clinicians should be trained on language skills and providing professional interpreters. It is also advisable to provide screening for imperfect English skills and favored language of clinical care.
Table 1
Some of the factors that affect the health of the minorities are biology, which determines the vulnerability and mechanisms, herd immunity, and exposure or immunization. The behavior, physical and social environment are influenced by the social norms, laws, and policies. The health care system also decides the types of medication and services available.
Reference
Pérez-Stable, E. J., & El-Toukhy, S. (2018). Communicating with diverse patients: how patient and clinician factors affect disparities. Patient education and counseling , 101 (12), 2186-2194. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2018.08.021
