PATIENT ASSERTIVENESS IN ETHNICALLY DIVERSE OLDER WOMEN WITH BREAST-CANCER - CHALLENGING STEREOTYPES OF THE ELDERLY

Patients' views of patient-physician interactions-particularly the per spectives of older, ethnically diverse women-are poorly understood. Th e older patient's attitude toward and understanding of the medical enc ounter, however, are essential to the design of strategies to improve patient-physician communication. To date, investigations have primaril y emphasized the ways in which the therapeutic relationship is influen ced by immutable patient characteristics. This qualitative study exten ds previous research findings by looking beyond the effect of ascribed categories (such as age, race, and gender) and focusing on aspects of patient behavior, specifically assertiveness. Fonts groups were condu cted with older African-, Chinese-, European-, and Hispanic American b reast cancer patients from sites in the eastern and western United Sta tes. The study explores the potential of a form of patient activation for challenging stereotypes of the elderly and changing health care pr actitioners' behavior.