Culture in GP consultations with ethnic minority patients (V1.6)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Culturally informed communication in primary care consultations between general practitioners and ethnic minority patients in the United Kingdom: A conversation analysis
IRAS ID
327775
Contact name
S. Sanaa Hyder
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Duration of Study in the UK
2 years, 0 months, 3 days
Research summary
Research suggests that people from ethnic minority backgrounds are more likely to experience inequalities in access to health care, low quality care, and poor health outcomes, compared with people from White ethnic backgrounds. Yet few studies have looked into such inequalities within healthcare settings. According to the NHS Written Complaints data, one of the largest percentage of complaints made by patients are related to communications with GPs. In fact, language and communication issues, and cultural misunderstandings negatively affect patients’ and healthcare professionals’ satisfaction during consultations.
Studies using conversation analysis – examining verbal and nonverbal interaction – suggest that people ‘maintain’ and reproduce their cultural identities and affiliations through communication. But few studies have examined communication between GPs and ethnic minority patients using real-time consultation recordings. Indeed, recent GP curricula suggest that 'whole person care', which includes considering patient's cultural background, seem unclear at the start to GPs-in-training.
Using conversation analysis and recorded consultations, this study will be among the first to examine what counts as 'culturally informed communication' in consultations between GPs and ethnic minority patients. It will look at what counts as an orientation to 'culture' in consultations, and which interactional practices work well or less well in such consultations. Using convenience sampling, the study will recruit 1-5 general practices with a large number of registered ethnic minority patients, in the North of England; and recruit 1-3 GPs per practice. Across sites, 70-100 consultations with patients and GPs will be recorded. Upon participants' consent, their demographic information and consultation recordings will be collected. The dataset will also include approximately 50 video clips from the TV programme 'GPs: Behind Closed Doors'. Data collection will be conducted over 1-1.5 years. Findings of this study may contribute to medical communication research and training for healthcare professionals. This research is funded by the University of Manchester.
REC name
Wales REC 6
REC reference
24/WA/0073
Date of REC Opinion
14 May 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion