Attitudes of Asian patients in Birmingham to general practitioner services

Abstract

Attitudes of Asian patients to the delivery of primary health care in two Birmingham general practices were investigated by questionnaires administered by an Asian ethnic minorities worker who spoke dialects appropriate to the population under investigation. One practice was staffed by Asian doctors the other by British doctors. The responses to the questionnaires were analysed with reference to religion — Sikh, Hindu and Muslim and to the two practices. Choice of doctor appears to be determined more by the proximity of the patient's home to the practice premises than by ethnic considerations. Reported failures to meet the special needs of Asian patients were those inherent in the difficulties of British general practice and were not peculiar to Asian patients. The need for help from an interpreter did not seem to be important.