2018, Number 4
UK medical students’ experience of culture & communication in Cuban health care
Levi J, Erbacher I
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Language: English
References: 3
Page: 47-47
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Final-year medical students at UK universities are able to do elective placements elsewhere, to learn about other health care systems. We chose Cuba because of its excellent health outcomes despite relatively few resources. We were struck, for instance, when Cuba made global headlines in 2015 as the first country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis. And, since the UK’s underfunded National Health Service is experiencing high demand and increasing pressure, we sought to understand more about Cuba’s socialist health system, where health care spending per capita is much lower than the UK’s, but life expectancy is almost the same.In spring 2018, we worked for several weeks at two large obstetric hospitals, one in Havana and another in Santiago de Cuba. While there, we noted differences in doctor–patient and doctor–doctor relationships, compared with the UK (realizing that these are of course subject to cultural norms). Since these were specialized secondary hospitals, we cannot comment on communication norms in primary care settings, where doctors and patients tend to know each other better and have more time to discuss concerns and expectations, and where most women get their antenatal care (with many questions probably answered there before labor even begins).
Communication is fundamental to quality health care. Much of our communication training in the UK focuses on providing patient-centered care, emphasizing provision of clear, understandable information about patients’ examinations, diagnosis and treatment. The goal is to facilitate autonomy as well as listening to and answering patients’ questions. Obstetrics is a particularly intimate specialty, and pregnancy and childbirth can induce anxiety. In the UK where the doctor–patient ratio is 1:357 (one of the poorest in Europe,[1]) doctors are often unable to dedicate enough time to individual patients because hospitals are dramatically understaffed.
REFERENCES
National Health Statistics and Medical Records Division (CU). Anuario Estadístico de Salud 2016 [Internet]. Havana: Ministry of Public Health (CU); 2017 [cited 2018 Oct 10]. 206 p. Available from: http://fi les.sld.cu/dne/fi les/2017/05/Anua rio_Estad%C3%ADstico_Ingles_e_2016_Edici%C3%B3n_2017.pdf. Spanish.