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 study is the identification of types of communication among physicians and parents of disabled children, who have congenital or acquired pathologies and who need treatment and rehabilitation. The focal point of the study is the assumption that the communication between the doctor and the child’s parents should be based on trust. It is one of the factors influencing the availability of medical care for children with disabilities. The study uses a structured in-depth interview (19). There is much evidence that 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 medical care, doctor, parents, communication.