SHORT REPORT

Can an information booklet on an ethnic minority increase the knowledge base of junior doctors?

B Ward, P de Chazal, J F Mayberry

Leicester General Hospital, Gwendolen Road, Leicester, UK

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to:
Dr J F Mayberry
Leicester General Hospital, Gwendolen Road, Leicester LE5 4PW, UK; jmaybe{at}tiscali.co.uk

Many doctors encounter people of different cultural backgrounds for the first time as patients. In Leicester a significant proportion of the area’s population comes from a Gujarati and Hindu background. In an attempt to better inform junior doctors about the views and beliefs of their patients, a group of clinicians and administrators developed an information booklet about the beliefs and practices of people from this community. The impact of this booklet on a group of 54 junior doctors’ knowledge was investigated over a period of one month. Such an information booklet was found to significantly increase awareness of the cultural background of patients from a minority community and this knowledge was maintained for at least one month after distribution. The study did not investigate impact on attitudes.

Keywords: junior doctors; ethnic minorities; information booklet; cultural awareness

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