Health-Sector Communication with a Non-Italian Public in Bergamo

This paper deals with public communication to a multicultural audience on health issues. It specifically looks at the strategies pertinent in physician patient interaction with non-Italian speakers. Results are based on data collected at the Local Health Authority in the Province of Bergamo, Italy. Health issues are seen as being highly personal and emotive, often with a need to act precisely and quickly. In such circumstances, the client-institution as well as the patient/physician relationship are both fundamental in the efficient dispensation of services. This efficiency is dependent on a mutual client-institution understanding of the systems in place and a mutual expectation of procedures and processes. The breakdown of this relationship or mutual understanding leads to a loss of trust in the system or the individual and a number of consequences including possible non-compliance to treatment. In this study, the expectations in the health service processes and procedures followed by the individual are perceived as being influenced by culture, as well as by other aspects like psychology and socio-economic status. This is true for the health service itself, those who work in the health service as well as for the users of the service.