‘It is just part of life’: patient perspectives and experiences of diagnostic imaging referrals
Chandra Rekha Makanjee A E , Deon Xu B , Drishti Sarswat C and Anne-Marie Bergh D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A Department of Medical Radiation Science, University of Canberra, ACT 2617, Australia.
B Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, NSW 2031, Australia.
C South East Radiology, Nowra, NSW 2541, Australia.
D Research Centre for Maternal, Fetal, Newborn and Child Health Care Strategies, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
E Corresponding author. Email: chandra.makanjee@canberra.edu.au
Australian Journal of Primary Health 26(6) 507-513 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY20146
Submitted: 17 June 2020 Accepted: 24 September 2020 Published: 20 November 2020
Abstract
Referral for a medical imaging examination is an integral part of the medical consultation; however, not much is known about patients’ experience of these referrals. The life-world experiences and perspectives of patients as ‘persons’ referred for an imaging investigation are explored through the lens of person-centred and whole-person care. Individual interviews were conducted with 22 patients referred for an imaging investigation. The findings were interpreted in terms of the journey of a patient; that is, the processes the patient undergoes as a person in the course of a referral for a diagnostic imaging investigation as part of the disease and its treatment. Participants’ life and health journeys are described in terms of three themes: (1) events leading to an imaging examination; (2) the imaging referral experience embedded within the medical encounter; and (3) the integration of the findings of the imaging examination into their everyday life. Health practitioners should be mindful of the complexity of medical consultations that include a referral for an imaging investigation.
Keywords: life events, lived experience, person-centred care, qualitative research.
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