S 29 Masterclass

Title: Masterclass – The patient experience
Monday, September 8, 14:00 – 15:30
Omega 2

GUEST SPEAKER
Psychological care and cultural diversity: what should we be aware of?
T.M. Ho Wong¹, M. Kelly^2
1 Department of Nephrology, Hospital del Mar, Parc de Salut Mar, Barcelona, Spain; ² Irish Kidney Association, Dublin, Ireland

Background: A diagnosis of chronic kidney disease (CKD) with the subsequent need for renal replacement therapy can be an overwhelming experience for those diagnosed and their family. It is well documented that CKD, its treatment and related demands has an enormous psychological impact on the patient's emotional wellbeing and intrudes into every aspect of life.
We live in a multi-cultural, multi-racial and multi-ethnic world. Our patients and their families come to us from a variety of backgrounds, cultures and languages.
This masterclass well address two interrelated aspects; psychological care for our patients and their families within diverse cultural backgrounds and languages. The masterclass will examine issues such as; psychological responses to illness and how this might express itself within a cultural context; emotional needs and how they may or may not be verbalised depending on cultural norms; effective communication and how this can be inhibited by language barriers or different communication styles. A related issue is interpretation: who interprets? If it is a family member, is their interpretation influenced by cultural and family norms? How do we check that what we say has been interpreted correctly? Involving patients in decision making, what does this mean within their cultural context?
The masterclass will be interactive in nature. Included in the discussion are the issues ou bring from your experience. The goal of the masterclass is to acknowledge the complexity of caring for patients from diverse cultural backgrounds and to raise awareness, leading to better care for those patients and their families.