Intercultural doctor-patient communication experiences of Indian women living in Singapore

Abstract

Understanding intercultural medical communication ensures doctor-patient communication accommodates our cultural differences in medical encounters. While there is existing research that explores doctor-patient communication, further examination is needed to understand how intercultural communicative needs can lead to better medical encounters for the patients involved. This study focuses on intercultural medical communication experience of Indian women living in Singapore. Twenty-eight interviews were conducted with participants between the ages of 30 to 75. The transcripts were analyzed using the three steps of thematic analysis. The findings highlight communication differences in medical experiences, and lack of connectedness with providers. Our findings reiterate that individuals compare medical experiences based on one’s own cultural expectations and these expectations carry over into a different intercultural medical context. The articulations of challenges in communication demonstrate key ways culture plays a role in intercultural medical interaction as well as points toward an even greater need for communication accommodation. Thus, the findings suggest the significance and importance of communication accommodation at both interpersonal and intergroup levels in doctor-patient interaction, especially in an intercultural context.