Indicative quotations: everyday relations for gaining understanding, intimacy and recognition
| Participants | Quote |
| P52 (male, medical practitioner) | I’ve found that there’s often cultural contracts which we don’t understand. It takes a long time to understand in terms of the process that an individual will go through in making a decision. Even if we give them all the information that’s available in terms of what options are there, they’ll make a decision that we just struggle to really comprehend […] Where I was working we had to send (patients) to the different islands or the big city for further investigations and treatment and they said, “No, not a chance, because I’m willing to die at home because I need to die on my own island. Even if I could get treatment that could prolong my life, save my life, the risk of dying away from home is too much of an issue”, based on her beliefs and so she would just forego medical care as a result of that. And it took a long time That took a week to get to that point of understanding, and even some of the local doctors, they were from different islands, different cultures in the same country, so they couldn’t really grapple with it. I suppose that’s that lack of understanding which is sometimes a barrier to us knowing why a decision has been made (FG8). |
| P57 (male, medical practitioner) P53 (male, medical practitioner) | P57: I would say the thing I try and do is often if I’ve got to have a very complex, long discussion that I would normally do in an hour, I would just try and book three appointments… P53: I think it brings to the fore something that we don’t understand very well, and to use an example, (the doctor) wants to transplant somebody, “So we’re going to do this and we’re going to do that and we’re going to get this from there and then we’re going to do that and these are the things that can happen, and that’s the mechanics of it”, and that’s all the patient needs to know from a technical perspective. So what’s the other 2 hours? That’s (the doctor), the person, relating to the patient as a person and that trust builds up and that’s all (FG8). |
| P8 (female, nurse) | I don’t think there’s anything wrong in acknowledging and saying, “Look, I understand this is part of your culture”, or whatever the case may be, but just saying, “Look, it also won’t hurt if I run this by these people because sometimes what you’re doing can actually cause problems to the other treatment they’re receiving”, and more often than not, people will say, “I didn’t realise that” (FG1). |
| P36 (female, dietitian): | I guess it’s acknowledging that that’s an important value system for them and that we’re certainly not against that, but just trying to open or build that rapport (FG6). |
| P15 (female, medical practitioner) | I used to be very uncomfortable with the patient not knowing everything about their diagnosis, and I could feel it when I’d walk in and the family’s arms are waving and, “Don’t say anything”, and they’re trying to get—I’d get my back up I know I used to automatically say, “How am I going to deal with this?” and feel uncomfortable. Whereas now, because I’m more used to it maybe, and I also understand it a bit more, I usually give the family an opportunity to speak to me separately. And I think allowing them to do that so that they know that I’ve listened to them, and I actually do try and listen to what they say, and there might be a good reason why they don’t want mum to know (FG2). |
| P49 (female, nurse) | What you’re doing is constantly assessing and shifting your communication and picking up what the issues are usually from the sensitive nature of what you’re doing with people. So 2 am chats or when you’ve got someone in the shower and things like that you get that trust bond. So you’re missing that with people that you don’t have that ongoing communication with (FG7). |