Medical Jargons as Hindrance in Doctor–Patient Communication

Thomas, Marlyn; Hariharan, Meena; Rana, Suvashisa; Swain, Sunayana; Andrew, Asher

doi:10.1007/s12646-014-0262-x

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…As both understanding and recognition confidence are strong predictors of how useful participants find the TTA, it means that simply changing the phrasing of the statements will allow participants with low levels of training to make better use of the TTA without diminishing their clarity for users with more advanced training. This effect has been well documented in the science education and medical communities (e.g., Thomas et al, 2014;Bullock et al, 2019;Rau et al, 2020). Studies on both cardiac patients and parents undergoing pre-natal counselling have identified that terms commonly used by professionals are not widely understood by patients, despite having visited these professionals (Thomas et al 2014, Rau et al 2020.…”

Section: Removal Of Jargonmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…This effect has been well documented in the science education and medical communities (e.g., Thomas et al, 2014;Bullock et al, 2019;Rau et al, 2020). Studies on both cardiac patients and parents undergoing pre-natal counselling have identified that terms commonly used by professionals are not widely understood by patients, despite having visited these professionals (Thomas et al 2014, Rau et al 2020. Furthermore, Bullock et al (2019) demonstrated that jargon reduces the ability to process scientific information and even impacts willingness to consider alternative perspectives or adopt new technologies.…”

Section: Removal Of Jargonmentioning

confidence: 78%

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Travel and terrain advice statements in public avalanche bulletins: A quantitative analysis of who uses this information, what makes it useful, and how it can be improved for users

Fisher

Haegeli

Mair

2021

Preprint

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Abstract. Recreationists are responsible for developing their own risk management plans for travelling in avalanche terrain. In order to provide guidance for recreationists on mitigating exposure to avalanche hazard, many avalanche warning services include explicit travel and terrain advice (TTA) statements in their daily avalanche bulletins where forecasters offer guidance about what specific terrain to avoid and what to favour under the existing hazard conditions. However, the use and effectiveness of this advice has never been tested to ensure it meets the needs of recreationists developing their risk management approach for backcountry winter travel. We conducted an online survey in Canada and the United States to determine which user groups are paying attention to the TTA in avalanche bulletins, what makes these statements useful, and if modifications to the phrasing of the statements would improve their usefulness for users. Our analysis reveals that the core audience of the TTA is users with introductory level avalanche awareness training who integrate slope-scale terrain considerations into their avalanche safety decisions. Using a series of ordinal mixed effect models, we show that reducing the jargon used in the advice helped users with no or only introductory level avalanche awareness training understand the advice significantly better and providing additional context for the advice made the advice more useful for them. These results provide avalanche warning services with critical perspectives and recommendations for improving their TTA so that they can better support recreationists who are at earlier stages of developing their avalanche risk management approach and therefore need the support the most.

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Section: Removal Of Jargonmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Removal Of Jargonmentioning

confidence: 78%

Travel and terrain advice statements in public avalanche bulletins: A quantitative analysis of who uses this information, what makes it useful, and how it can be improved for users

Fisher

Haegeli

Mair

2021

Preprint

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“…In the second sublevel, after diagnostic tests were initiated, the Web was used to facilitate understanding of medical terms. The use of medical jargon in consultations, dissatisfaction with doctors’ communication skills, and the prevalence of low health literacy is well documented [ 41 , 42 ]. The majority of cancer patients prefer to be informed about their diagnosis [ 43 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Role of Web-Based Health Information in Help-Seeking Behavior Prior to a Diagnosis of Lung Cancer: A Mixed-Methods Study

Mueller¹,

Jay²,

Harper³

et al. 2017

J Med Internet Res

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BackgroundDelays to diagnosis in lung cancer can lead to reduced chance of survival, and patients often wait for several months before presenting symptoms. The time between first symptom recognition until diagnosis has been theorized into three intervals: symptom appraisal, help-seeking, and diagnostic interval (here: “pathway to diagnosis”). Interventions are needed to reduce delays to diagnosis in lung cancer. The Web has become an important lay health information source and could potentially play a role in this pathway to diagnosis.ObjectiveOur overall aim was to gain a preliminary insight into whether Web-based information plays a role in the pathway to diagnosis in lung cancer in order to assess whether it may be possible to leverage this information source to reduce delays to diagnosis.MethodsPatients diagnosed with lung cancer in the 6 months before study entry completed a survey about whether (and how, if yes) they had used the Web to appraise their condition prior to diagnosis. Based on survey responses, we purposively sampled patients and their next-of-kin for semistructured interviews (24 interviews; 33 participants). Interview data were analyzed qualitatively using Framework Analysis in the context of the pathway to diagnosis model.ResultsA total of 113 patients completed the survey (age: mean 67.0, SD 8.8 years). In all, 20.4% (23/113) reported they or next-of-kin had researched their condition online before the diagnosis. The majority of searches (20/23, 87.0%) were conducted by or with the help of next-of-kin. Interview results suggest that patients and next-of-kin perceived an impact of the information found online on all three intervals in the time to diagnosis. In the appraisal interval, participants used online information to evaluate symptoms and possible causes. In the help-seeking interval, the Web was used to inform the decision of whether to present to health services. In the diagnostic interval, it was used to evaluate health care professionals’ advice, to support requests for further investigation of symptoms, and to understand medical jargon. Within this interval, we identified two distinct subintervals (before/after relevant diagnostic tests were initiated), in which the Web reportedly played different roles.ConclusionsBecause only 20.4% of the sample reported prediagnosis Web searches, it seems the role of the Web before diagnosis of lung cancer is at present still limited, but this proportion is likely to increase in the future, when barriers such as unfamiliarity with technology and unwillingness to be informed about one’s own health are likely to decrease. Participants’ perceptions suggest that the Web can have an impact on all three intervals in the pathway to diagnosis. Thus, the Web may hold the potential to reduce delays in the diagnostic process, and this should be explored in future research and interventions. Our results also suggest a division of the diagnostic interval into two subintervals may be useful.

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“…Unfortunately, research suggests that nonaccommodative strategies may be typical in the health context. Thomas et al (2014), for instance, found that most doctors use medical jargon during a consultation and rarely ever explain that jargon to patients (see also Castro, Wilson, Wang, & Schillinger, 2007; Deuster, Christopher, Donovan, & Farrell, 2008). Medical language can be daunting, overwhelming, and frustrating for patients and can limit their comprehension of health information.…”

Section: Communication Accommodation Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Communication between members of different groups is undeniably one of the most multifaceted social behaviors. This is particularly evident in the health context where communication between health care providers and patients can often be problematic (DesHarnais, Carter, Hennessy, Kurent, & Carter, 2007; Hagihara & Tarumi, 2006; Politi & Street, 2011; Thomas, Hariharan, Rana, Swain, & Andrew, 2014). Communication failures in the health care setting are especially troubling because they can unintentionally result in poor patient care and patient harm.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

How Patients Perceive Their Doctors’ Communication

Baker

Watson

2015

Journal of Language and Social Psychology

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By emphasizing the value of health professionals' communication skills in creating positive health care experiences, researchers have tended to study health communication as an interpersonal encounter. Interactions in the health context, though, are inherently intergroup. Using the language and social psychology approach, this study emphasizes those intergroup features of health communication. We used mixed methods and applied communication accommodation theory and the willingness to communicate construct to the health context. Participants in Canada and Australia (N = 371) were asked about their perceptions of their health consultations. Multiple regression analyses revealed that health communication competence was the best predictor of patient willingness to communicate. Differences between patients' accounts of positive and negative health care experiences were clearly differentiated by their perceptions of the health professionals' communication strategies. The potential effects of these strategies on patient participation are discussed. Keywords intergroup communication, willingness to communicate, communication accommodation strategiesCommunication between members of different groups is undeniably one of the most multifaceted social behaviors. This is particularly evident in the health context where communication between health care providers and patients can often be problematic

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Medical Jargons as Hindrance in Doctor–Patient Communication

Cited by 12 publications

References 12 publications

Travel and terrain advice statements in public avalanche bulletins: A quantitative analysis of who uses this information, what makes it useful, and how it can be improved for users

Travel and terrain advice statements in public avalanche bulletins: A quantitative analysis of who uses this information, what makes it useful, and how it can be improved for users

The Role of Web-Based Health Information in Help-Seeking Behavior Prior to a Diagnosis of Lung Cancer: A Mixed-Methods Study

How Patients Perceive Their Doctors’ Communication

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