Many immigrants who go to the doctor with a fever or other symptoms often feel misunderstood and not taken seriously. While the patient is panicky, the doctor responds laconically. Why don’t they understand each other?

Origin

Immigrants who grew up abroad have a different view of diseases than the average Dutch person. Many countries of origin are or were relatively less developed. Healthcare there works differently than in the Netherlands. Often several systems coexist, which are called alternative or natural medicine. Examples include treatment with herbs, acupuncture and shamanism. The Western system is often difficult to access and too expensive for ordinary people. Moreover, the information provision in those countries is less good.

Diseases in country of origin

Due to a lack of information and the greater influence of alternative medicine, the immigrant will approach his illness differently. He will try to find information in his environment (from acquaintances and family). He often encounters serious illnesses, which superficially have the same symptoms as mild illnesses. Due to a lack of expertise, he cannot distinguish between symptoms of both. Fever can be a symptom of a harmless cold, but also of much more serious diseases such as pneumonia. To avoid risks, the patient will take the most serious cases into account. The immigrant will take this attitude with him to a new country of residence.

Naturopathic remedies

In the country of origin, the patient will often turn to the alternative circuit due to a lack of financial resources and a lack of access to Western medicine. Alternative or natural medicine focuses on humans more than mainstream Western medicine. According to these systems, the patient should heal by strengthening his mind and body. Based on the basic principles of these healing methods, attention is paid to the person and he is approached and treated individually. In addition, a lot of attention is paid to preventive measures and treatments. A mixture of herbs can be found for every disease, or a treatment can be prescribed. A patient will therefore rarely leave empty-handed. This way of approaching the patient gives him the feeling of having been treated.

Diseases in the Netherlands

In the Netherlands, many serious diseases associated with fever have been eradicated. The remaining diseases are mild or rare. The accessibility of general practitioners is good and the barrier to seeing a doctor is relatively low. A general practitioner will therefore often deal with the same mild diseases with the same symptoms. For him, the patient is just another patient that day and his interest in the person in front of him will gradually diminish. For example, if you go to the doctor with the flu, you will be advised to rest a lot, drink plenty of fluids and get sick. In contrast to the alternative circuit, the GP will usually not prescribe a drug, because there are no well-functioning medicines for flu. After his visit, the immigrant patient will therefore think that he has not received any treatment.

Communication

Language barrier plays a role in misunderstandings between the immigrant patient and the treating physician. The doctor may therefore misjudge his patient’s level of knowledge and understanding. He may give less importance to signs for a particular disease and to signs for complications of diseases due to exaggeration. If the patient notices that he is not understood or not taken seriously, he may react emotionally. The doctor may then think that he is dealing with a difficult patient. In this way, both parties get into a vicious circle and emotions can become very heated.

Way out

Objectively, solutions can be found to this problem. The patient can increase his language skills and his knowledge of diseases. Doctors can increase their knowledge about the attitudes of immigrants towards diseases and give their patients the feeling that they are taken seriously. In addition, general practitioners can delve into diseases abroad that are rare here. The reality, however, is often more difficult, but if both parties understand each other that they still have a way to go, they will understand each other a little better, even without language and knowledge.