Plenary: Talking To Different Communities

Members of minority communities approach and experience the healthcare system very differently from those in the majority. When making medical decisions, minority patients seek different types of imformation, use different criteria for decision making, and prefer different levels of physician involvement in their decision making process. Yet the evidence shows that healthcare providers routinely ignore - or simply misread - minority patient's preferences and needs. This session will examine the ways in which a "one size fits all" approach to communication can result in a complete breakdown of trust between patients and providers, which seriously degrades the quality of care minority patients receive, and encourage a more constructive model for approaching end-of-life discussions with members of underrepresented communities.