Are Middle Easterners high-context or low-context? How does this affect health care communications?

Answer 1

Interactions are highly contextual throughout the Balkans and the Middle East, meaning that body language and general atmosphere are as important to communication as words, if not more so. People in the Middle East spend time getting to know one another before any business is discussed. Offering coffee or tea at the beginning of any interaction helps to establish a warm and hospitable atmosphere with many Balkan or Middle Eastern clients. Direct eye contact is expected and necessary to interpret meaning, so Middle Easterners usually sit or stand quite close when conversing with intimates but may retain a larger distance with strangers.

Good manners are important; if not an emergency situation, inquire first about overall well-being of the patient and exchange pleasantries, such as a few minutes for general questions about the well-being of other family members or personal interests of the client. It is important to speak kindly, softly, and respectfully. Privacy is valued and clients may resist disclosure of personal information to strangers, especially when it relates to familial disease conditions. Individual clients may be inexperienced with making independent decisions; thus, options should be kept to a minimum to avoid overwhelming the client with too many choices. Family members, especially an elder male relative, may insist on participating in all conversations, even those that customarily take place in the office between only the practitioner and the patient. Because these family members may make the final decisions regarding care, their presence should be valued and their opinions fully solicited. However, if the client is a woman, she may ask to have her husband or father sign medical forms, presenting liability issues regarding consent. There may be suspicion regarding questions about religious affiliation or socioeconomic data. Fear of racial profiling may occur.