ABU DHABI // Doctors need to change their bedside manner when dealing with Arab patients, or risk missing details that could be crucial to treating them.
Training on how to communicate with patients has been developed mostly in western, English-speaking settings, and often does not translate well for doctors working in the UAE and the region, experts told a conference yesterday.
Dr Deen Mirza, the assistant professor at the faculty of medicine and health sciences at United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain, compared the doctor-patient consultation to a map. The Dubai Metro and the London Tube are similar in many ways, he said, but a map of one is no help in navigating the other.
"There are many aspects that affect the dynamics of a consultation," said Dr Mirza, speaking yesterday on the second day of the Abu Dhabi Medical Congress.
"Cultural aspects, such as the tribal culture of the Arab world, will mean that there are implications of tribal tradition with men in Arab society as breadwinners and protectors, whereas women are the ones to raise the family."
This mindset, he said, means that men who have been unemployed for six months have exaggerated feelings of inadequacy and low self esteem.
A patient with erectile dysfunction, for example, would not be open about his problem with his doctor, and instead insist on his wife undergoing unnecessary investigation for infertility.
"In this case, open questions will get you nowhere," Dr Mirza said.
"Sometimes, direct questioning is helpful. Adapt your style, show that you are understanding of the feelings of guilt or depression, say that this is normal and show the patient that he is allowed to have these symptoms."
Attributing symptoms to jinn (spirit) possession or the evil eye is common in the Arab world; doctors have to be careful not to dismiss this religious belief as superstition.
"As a doctor, you may or may not share the same beliefs as the patients, but if you dismiss something that the patient believes in so wholeheartedly, it may lead to discordance between doctor and patient," Dr Mirza said.
Even the contents of a doctor's office can affect a patient's trust. A prayer mat in the corner, or a lot of religious paraphernalia, may make a patient unwilling to discuss alcohol or drug abuse, or admit to having sex outside marriage.
"Patients are intimidated by doctors, and need to feel that they will not be judged," Dr Mirza said. "Sometimes the doctor is also shy and does not ask direct questions, which does not help."
Dr Cother Hajat, section head of public health programmes at the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi, said part of the problem is the lack of resources for doctors to help them to learn how to communicate with Gulf Arab patients.
"Adapting to local needs does not just involve translating," she said. "There is so much more to gaining the trust of the patient."
Some guides do exist, but they are not enough, she said. She suggested that one solution could be for doctors with expertise in the region to work together on drafting a relevant resource.
Dr Laeth Nasir, professor and chair of the family medicine department at UAEU, co-wrote a guide in 2008 with his wife Dr Arwa Abdul-Haq, a paediatrician at Al Ain Hospital.
In Caring for Arab Patients, A Biopsychosocial Approach, based on studies in 22 Arab countries, they set out the key aspects of treating Arab patients, including the effects of gender on health, death and dying and family dynamics.
"Many of the physicians practising in Arab countries have received their training in Europe or America, which then translates into how they practise medicine," Dr Nasir said.
"The technology of medicine can be transferred directly from one culture to another but many psychosocial aspects of medicine cannot."
This is echoed by Dr Mirza, who said doctors are learning in one language – English – but practising and communicating with patients in their native language – Arabic.
Explaining a diagnosis to a patient, or describing how treatment should be administered, might not come as naturally in Arabic as it does in English. A gap remains, he said.
"Doctors need to sit down together, throw ideas back and forth, and come up with phrases that make sense and can be used from experience in the field, so that when we see our patients, we are able to connect with them," he said.
hkhalaf@thenational.ae
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
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Ammar 808:
Maghreb United
Sofyann Ben Youssef
Glitterbeat
AIR
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The Comeback: Elvis And The Story Of The 68 Special
Simon Goddard
Omnibus Press
The%20specs
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
MATCH INFO
Championship play-offs, second legs:
Aston Villa 0
Middlesbrough 0
(Aston Villa advance 1-0 on aggregate)
Fulham 2
Sessegnon (47'), Odoi (66')
Derby County 0
(Fulham advance 2-1 on aggregate)
Final
Saturday, May 26, Wembley. Kick off 8pm (UAE)
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
Indika
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The biog
From: Upper Egypt
Age: 78
Family: a daughter in Egypt; a son in Dubai and his wife, Nabila
Favourite Abu Dhabi activity: walking near to Emirates Palace
Favourite building in Abu Dhabi: Emirates Palace
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
More from our neighbourhood series:
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Juventus v Napoli, Sunday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Match on Bein Sports
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now