HOME > PREPARED PATIENT BLOG > PATIENT ENGAGEMENT > PATIENT PERSPECTIVES
Through blogs and comments, patients and experts explore what it takes to find good health care and make the most of it.
Off Pitch: Simple Conversations Go Astray
Patient Perspectives | October 6, 2011
Patient Perspectives round up recent posts from patient blogs and are part of the Center for Advancing Health's portfolio of free, evidence-based coverage of what it takes to find good care and make the most of it.' Written by Monica Kriete, CFAH Communications Associate, and Goldie Pyka, CFAH Communications Manager.
Having a severe or chronic illness can impact everyday conversations and encounters in unexpected and sometimes jarring ways.' From loved ones to cashiers at the supermarket, getting the right level of understanding at the right time and in the right tone is unpredictable and rare.
Lene Andersen of The Seated View uses a wheelchair due to her rheumatoid arthritis, and in Out Among the English she describes various ways in which mobility impairments can hinder social interaction.' For starters, her limited mobility can make it difficult to initiate conversations. ' 'How many conversations start with a look and a smile?" she asks rhetorically.' "If your smile happens at other people's crotch level, it can be a bit problematic to catch somebody's eye,' she points out.
It can be uncomfortable to talk specifically about one's illness in social situations, especially if your company doesn't handle it well. ' For Ann Silberman, the social situation was a phone call, and her company?' A telemarketer.' On her blog, But Doctor, I Hate Pink, Ann writes about telling a salesman hawking a gym membership that she won't be renewing due to her stage IV breast cancer diagnosis.' Let's just say he doesn't quite get her point.
But sometimes even successful communication can be a mixed blessing. ' In Recognition Is Essential for Patients, Pamela Curtis writes about having coffee with friends, including a newcomer to the group who happens to be a neuroscience student.' Since the student fully understands the severity of her pituitary problem, his reaction is one of "genuine alarm and concern."' But, while it is gratifying to be understood, Pamela says, she wants to 'get credit for how well I'm doing, not for how awful I've got it.'
More Patient Perspectives:
- Technical Difficulties: Houston, We Have a Problem'
- The Emotions Illness Brings
- Accommodations for Chronic Conditions
More Blog Posts by Patient Perspectives
 Patient Perspectives round up recent posts from patient blogs and are part of the Center for Advancing Health’s portfolio of free, evidence-based coverage of what it takes to find good care and make the most of it. |
Tags for this article:
Patient Engagement
Patient Perspectives Relationships/Social Support
Comments on this post
Please note: CFAH reserves the right to moderate all comments posted to the Prepared Patient Blog. Any inappropriate postings will be removed.
No comments have been entered yet.
Add Your Comment
BROWSE BY: AUTHOR | TOPIC | MOST POPULAR
|
RELATED HEALTH BEHAVIOR NEWS
 |
Email and Texts to Doctors: Not Just for High-Income Patients |
 |
Decision Aids Sway More to Get Screened for Colon Cancer |
 |
Use of Patient Centered Medical Home Features Not Related to Patients' Experience of Care |
 |
Doctor-Patient Relationship Influences Patient Engagement |
