Sr. Adler et al., PATIENT ASSERTIVENESS IN ETHNICALLY DIVERSE OLDER WOMEN WITH BREAST-CANCER - CHALLENGING STEREOTYPES OF THE ELDERLY, Journal of aging studies, 12(4), 1998, pp. 331-350
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.