‘I do want to ask, but I can’t speak’: a qualitative study of ethnic minority women’s experiences of communicating with primary health care professionals in remote, rural Vietnam

International Journal for Equity in Health

Research

Thuy Linh Duong¹  Kirsty Foster²  Shannon McKinn³  Kirsten McCaffery⁴ 

[1] Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Hanoi Medical University, 1 Ton That Tung, Dong Da, Hanoi, Vietnam;Office for Global Health, Sydney Medical School, Edward Ford Building (A27), The University of Sydney, 2008, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Kolling Institute at Northern Clinical School, Sydney Medical School, Royal North Shore Hospital, 2065, St Leonard, NSW, Australia;Sydney School of Public Health, Edward Ford Building (A27), The University of Sydney, 2008, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Sydney School of Public Health, Edward Ford Building (A27), The University of Sydney, 2008, Sydney, NSW, Australia;Centre for Medical Psychology & Evidence-based Decision-making (CeMPED), The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia;

关键词: Communication;    Ethnic groups;    Minority groups;    Female;    Pregnancy;    Vietnam;    Maternal health;    Qualitative research;    Primary health care;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12939-017-0687-7

 received in 2017-06-09, accepted in 2017-10-24,  发布年份 2017

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundEthnic minority groups in Vietnam experience economic, social and health inequalities. There are significant disparities in health service utilisation, and cultural, interpersonal and communication barriers impact on quality of care. Eighty per cent of the population of Dien Bien Province belongs to an ethnic minority group, and poor communication between health professionals and ethnic minority women in the maternal health context is a concern for health officials and community leaders. This study explores how ethnic minority women experience communication with primary care health professionals in the maternal and child health setting, with an overall aim to develop strategies to improve health professionals’ communication with ethnic minority communities.MethodsWe used a qualitative focused ethnographic approach and conducted focus group discussions with 37 Thai and Hmong ethnic minority women (currently pregnant or mothers of children under five) in Dien Bien Province. We conducted a thematic analysis.ResultsEthnic minority women generally reported that health professionals delivered health information in a didactic, one-way style, and there was a reliance on written information (Maternal and Child Health handbook) in place of interpersonal communication. The health information they receive (both verbal and written) was often non-specific, and not context-adjusted for their personal circumstances. Women were therefore required to take a more active role in interpersonal interactions in order to meet their own specific information needs, but they are then faced with other challenges including language and gender differences with health professionals, time constraints, and a reluctance to ask questions. These factors resulted in women interpreting health information in diverse ways, which in turn appeared to impact their health behaviours.ConclusionsFostering two-way communication and patient-centred attitudes among health professionals could help to improve their communication with ethnic minority women. Communication training for health professionals could be included along with the nationwide implementation of written information to improve communication.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s). 2017