The aim of essay will be to critically evaluate a short film of an interaction between a doctor and a patient with a write what type of patient. I will also address the main elements of health promotion and the interpersonal skills used in relation to communication. I will analyse how issues such as discrimination, education, stereotyping and environment can affect communication and how health promotion is delivered. I will also reflect on how my own values, experiences, health, knowledge and education may impact the delivery of health promotion. I will discuss how I applied my learning and understanding of health promotion to a patient I encountered whilst on placement at an older persons inpatient mental health ward.
On Health, The WHO (1948)
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There was an immediate communication barrier in that the doctor sat at one side of the desk opposite the patient. Piled on his desk were numerous books which partly obscured him, so eye contact would be difficult. No effort was made to establish a friendly rapport, with the doctor adopting a direct, closed questioning approach, which did not allow the patient to expand or express themselves. The doctor appeared to ignore patient responses and at times spoke over the top of him Other than focusing on the physical issue, there was no attempt made by the doctor to explore any other factors that may have a detrimental impact on the patient. The Doctor also displayed evidence of diagnostic overshadowing, a phrase coined by Reiss, Leyton and Szyszko in 1982. They suggested that clinicians’ bias towards individuals with intellectual disability often resulted in undiagnosed medical issues. (Reiss et al 1982, Quoted in European Journal of Paediatric Neuropathy 2015). In other words, Diagnostic Overshadowing overlooks the patients’ physical symptoms and dismisses them as part of having an intellectual disability. This was further evidenced by the doctor not attempting to discuss the patients’ mental health needs or their understanding of what health meant to them (there was no exploration to assess if the patient needed any support to access services.) to be reviewed depending on type of