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Health:, Vol. 11, No. 1, 109-129 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/1363459307070810
© 2007 SAGE Publications

Health worker style and trustworthiness as perceived by Pakistani–born persons with type 2 diabetes in Oslo, Norway

Rønnaug Aarflot Fagerli

Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Norway

Marianne E. Lien

Department of Social Anthropology, University of Oslo, Norway

Margareta Wandel

Department of Nutrition, University of Oslo, Norway

This article explores Pakistani-born persons' expectations regarding health encounters and health-worker style, and consequences for communication. It is part of a larger qualitative study involving both health workers and Pakistani-born persons in Oslo. An earlier publication based on interviews with health workers revealed dilemmas around role enactment, and described how they perceived Pakistani-born patients to expect an authoritarian health-worker style. The present article is based on interviews with patients and reveals that Pakistani-born diabetics expect empathy and care rather than an authoritarian style. The interviews indicate that lack of trust and diverging role expectations may be understood in the context of class and level of education, as well as ethnicity. Responding to theories about empowerment work and the dual impact of ethnicity and class, the study indicates that health workers should admit their professional expert role, and combine this role with a caring attitude in order to build trust.

Key Words: cross-cultural communication • doctor–patient interaction • educational level/class • ethnic minority patient • trust


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