Teaching cultural aspects of health: A vital part of communication

Abstract

Communication teaching should now be an important part of the undergraduate curriculum. Training in cultural issues has been identified as missing by practising doctors. We describe here teaching which addressed both areas. Second-year students visited and interviewed a family from an ethnic minority group. They then presented and discussed their findings in groups of 12. Evaluation showed that most students found the teaching both interesting and useful. Their understanding of cultural factors in health, as well as communication skilk, had increased.