BMJ  2003;327:448 (23 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.327.7412.448

Letter

Theme issue for patients

A picture tells a thousand words

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—It's become a ritual. First thing every Friday morning I log onto the BMJ, anticipating some interesting feature, latest research news, and generally to keep myself informed. This morning, however, was a disaster. Smith talks of "patient partnership"—but what I saw smacks of paternalism and tokenism.1 I am not necessarily referring to the content.

The layout, design, and visuals are enough to confirm my point. Why does an issue for patients have to be adorned with huge headers, glossy pictures, and a delicate swirl of colour here and there? Is the assumption that patients' attention span is possibly less than that of a health professional, or that their eyesight is generally poorer, or that their intellectual interest will be attracted only via the visual? It is ironic that an issue claiming to spur on this collaborative and "equal" relationship between doctor and patient should so blatantly reinforce . . . [Full text of this article]

Rosetta Manaszewicz, steering committee member

Breast Cancer Action Group (Victoria), PO Box 381, Fairfield, Victoria 3078, Australia rmanasz@optushome.com.au


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