Medical educators' experiences on medically unexplained symptoms and intercultural communication—an expert focus group study

Abstract

Background Medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are highly prevalent and remain challenging in healthcare and medical education, along with the increase in the importance of intercultural issues regarding MUS. However, less is known about the challenges of professionally addressing patients with MUS in the interprofessional and intercultural contexts. Thus, the present study aims to provide the first exploration of the experiences of medical specialists regarding treating MUS in intercultural contexts and inputs for training development on the intercultural aspects of MUS. Methods Three focus groups (total n = 13) consisting of medical specialists from a Hungarian university who were teaching at the medical faculty in intercultural settings and also worked for the university health services were interviewed. The topics covered the participants' personal experiences on addressing MUS and the challenges of intercultural communication and the intercultural educational context. Thematic analysis was used to yield a qualitative account of the interviews as guided by the research questions. Results Representing the different aspects of medical specialists, the study identified three main themes in the experiences of medical specialists, namely, 1) the need to adapt to the personal world of patients and search for common frames to understand MUS, 2) the need to discover methods for adapting to cultural differences and 3) the need to enhance the interprofessional coordination of knowledge and practices. Conclusions The results are in line with the distinct conclusions of previous studies. Moreover, an integrated educational program on the intercultural aspects of MUS may address the main themes separately and, subsequently, support their integration. Therefore, the study discusses the manner in which an integrated educational program on the intercultural aspects of MUS may address the needs recognized in these aspects.

Analysis of the Current Situation and Countermeasures of Cross-border Communication of Chinese Medicine Culture in the Context of Big Data

“…The excellent Chinese traditional culture has made China a leader in the world culture for thousands of years, which is one of the reasons for China's unique cultural charm and is also the bond that firmly binds Chinese children together and is an important guarantee for the cohesion and sense of belonging of the Chinese nation [1][2][3]. In the historical background of Chinese traditional culture, TCM culture has absorbed ancient Chinese philosophical ideas, combined the philosophical thinking of yin and yang and the five elements with the understanding of the basic laws of human physiology and the development of diseases, and created a distinctive and philosophically deep theoretical system [4][5][6]. And after thousands of years, it still contributes to the health of human beings and provides unique Chinese wisdom to international citizens in the field of medicine and health [7][8][9].…”

“…Qiying Yan, Yanqiu Zhou, Li Yin. Applied Mathematics and Nonlinear Sciences, 9(1) (2024)[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] …”