Trust of Turkish and Arabic ethnic minority patients in their Dutch oncologist

• Published in: Nederlands tijdschrift voor geneeskunde Vol. 157; no. 16; p. A5881
• Main Authors: Hillen, Marij A, el Temna, Shaima, van der Vloodt, Jane, de Haes, Hanneke C J M, Smets, Ellen M A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Dutch
• Published: Netherlands 2013
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Communication; Egypt - ethnology; Ethnic Groups - psychology; Female; Helping Behavior; Humans; Interviews as Topic; Male; Middle Aged; Minority Groups - psychology; Minority Groups - statistics & numerical data; Neoplasms - ethnology; Neoplasms - psychology; Neoplasms - therapy; Netherlands; Patients - psychology; Perception; Physician-Patient Relations; Physicians - psychology; Trust; Turkey - ethnology; Young Adult; Netherlands; Turkey; Egypt
• ISSN: 0028-2162; 1876-8784

To examine the nature of the trust that Turkish and Arabic ethnic minority patients suffering from cancer have in their oncologist, and to explore how this trust is established.
We interviewed 9 cancer patients with Turkish and Arabic backgrounds about the trust they have in their oncologist. Semi-structured qualitative interviews.
We interviewed 9 cancer patients with Turkish and Arabic backgrounds about the trust they have in their oncologist.
The trust that these patients have in their oncologist seemed to evolve gradually over time. According to the patients, three specific elements seemed to promote trust. Firstly, patients attached importance to a strongly proactive physician approach, even in the palliative phase when treatment was no longer indicated. A wait-and-see attitude was perceived by patients as a lack of willingness to help, and was detrimental to their trust. Secondly, patients indicated that they needed their oncologist to reassure them and avoided discussing depressing topics, so that they would not give up hope. Finally, the oncologist's non-verbal communication, particularly his or her facial expression, contributed to patients' trust.
Among these Turkish and Arabic ethnic minority cancer patients, trust in the physician appeared not to be self-evident, and might to some extent need to be 'earned' by oncologists. Because of these patients' great need for a proactive attitude, it is desirable that oncologists clearly explain their motivation when choosing for a possibly less active approach. In order to preserve hope, it is important that oncologists discover exactly what their patients' information needs are. The results of this explorative, small-scale study may help physicians to optimise the trust that Turkish and Arabic ethnic minority patients have in them.