Preferences For Honesty In Medical Communication Across Cultures

Authors:

Abstract: This study addresses the paradoxical phenomenon in Western medicine where physicians, despite the foundational principle of honesty, often convey false hope to patients. Grounded in recent developments in behavioral science, we posit that physicians and surrogates often underestimate patients' desire for candid medical communication. Examining two medical scenarios presented to physicians in China and the U.S., along with non-doctor adults considering patients or surrogates' perspectives, our findings reveal a consistent undervaluing of patient preferences for honesty, particularly in prognosis discussions. This tendency is most evident when U.S. doctors predict the preferences of Chinese American patients. In our cross-cultural comparison, while Chinese patients expressed a greater preference for false hope compared to White American patients, this inclination was not observed in the case of Chinese-American patients, a nuance that doctors failed to grasp. Implications for communication and conflict, healthcare management, as well as cross-cultural psychology were discussed.

Track: COMM

Keywords: Cross-culture, Medical Communication, Ethics, Decision-making, Honesty