BMJ 2000;321:1160 ( 4 November )

Letters

Parents do not always understand things doctors might say to them

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EDITOR---Misunderstandings between patients and their doctors have featured in several recent papers in the BMJ.1-4 At Gloucestershire Royal Hospital we completed an outpatient study of 100 parents or carers (after a pilot study in 20) to see what their understanding of the words "positive" and "negative" in relation to test results might be (because these words have opposite meanings in general usage and in medical terms). We also assessed their understanding of two phrases that a doctor might use in passing, which do not denote any disease ("the haemoglobin was a bit low" and "she's small but normal"). We used a semistructured questionnaire, and the same interviewer (DH) spoke to all the subjects. Verbal and non-verbal clues as to the "correct" answer were minimised, and no feedback was given as to whether the answer given was correct.

The sample was representative (in terms of age, sex, and reason . . . [Full text of this article]
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It works both ways.
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