The communication between a doctor and his patients’ parents as a factor in the availability of medical care for disabled children

Abstract

The purpose of this s tudy is the identi fi cation of types of communica tion among physi cians and parents of disabled children, who have congenital or acqui red pa thologies and who need treatment and rehabilita tion. The focal point of the s tudy is the assumption tha t the communi cation between the doctor and the child’s parents should be based on trust. It is one of the factors influencing the availability of medi cal care for children with disabilities. The study uses as tructured in-depth interview (19). There is much evi dence tha t doctors and parents prefer a paternalistic type of communication unlike partner, contractual or engineering. Our conclusion is that in a medical institution within the established bureaucratic type of organisational culture , recorded in our earlier study, the conditions for the professional activities of doctors and parents with disabled children receiving help are perceived by them as the most comfortable, since they correspond to their value orientations and expectations.

Keywords: Disabled children, access to medi cal care, doctor, parents , communi ca tion.