Knowing me, knowing you: a qualitative study of the effects on patients of doctors’ self-illness disclosures
Laura Bolger 1 , Katherine Helen Hall 1 2 , Martyn Williamson 11 Department of General Practice and Rural Health, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago Faculty of Medicine, Dunedin 9054, New Zealand
2 Corresponding author. Email: katherine.hall@otago.ac.nz
Journal of Primary Health Care 11(4) 327-333 https://doi.org/10.1071/HC19061
Published: 18 December 2019
Journal Compilation © Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners 2019 This is an open access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Very little is known how patients react to learning about their own doctors’ illnesses. Doctors can be uncertain if and when such disclosures can be helpful, and in what way, to patients. This paper attempts to bridge this gap by providing an in-depth analysis of one group of patients’ experiences with this type of disclosure.
AIM: To understand from patients’ perspectives, the effects on them of doctors disclosing their own illnesses, to provide guidance concerning the uses of this disclosure for general practitioners.
METHODS: This qualitative study was an exploration of 13 patients’ reactions to receiving such information, using semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis.
RESULTS: The major themes were the emotional dimensions of illness and patienthood, the doctor–patient relationship and patients’ concerns about disclosures. Disclosures can have profound effects on patients with both negative and positive consequences.
CONCLUSION: We present suggestions about how to use such disclosures in primary care to minimise potential harms and emphasise potential benefits, based on these patients’ perspectives and the current literature.
KEYwords: ethics; general practitioners; physician self-disclosure; reflective practice
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