a) GPs | |
Responsibility |
GPs should be comfortable enough to raise it with their patients. If I don’t feel comfortable enough to talk about it myself, the GP being a professional should be able to tell me about it. Obesity can also lead to depression and other health problems so it’s better if the GP is honest about it. I think it should be the GP’s responsibility in a way ... People will appreciate it in the long run. The doctor should reach out. You expect your doctor to be friendly so if GPs were to reach out to people and express an interest in them and also because they are professionals then people would listen to them.
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Relationship |
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Status |
If a friend of mine said have you seen your health recently it’s really bad I wouldn’t take any note of it, however if the GP said it, it’s come from a professional background. It’s the trust that what he is saying has got to be right. If a nurse told me something might be wrong somewhere I would still follow that up with the GP just to get a second opinion. You tend to have more trust in doctors because they have higher qualifications than nurses so it’s OK for nurses to raise the issue but then there needs to be a doctor to follow up on that.
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b) ‘Soft’ versus ‘hard’ approach |
Just say it in a friendly way. Then most people will appreciate it rather than be offended. They need to have fear [health implications]. Be friendly: make the person feel comfortable about themselves and within their skins. Not to say ‘you are overweight and that’s why your blood pressure is high’. I don’t think he [doctor] should beat around the bush. If he thinks you are fat, he should be able to tell you. He shouldn’t just say you are fat, and this, that, and the other. He should say you are overweight and it may cause you trouble in life. It’s all about the way people speak to you. I suppose it’s a sensitive issue so it should be put in a subtle way. Don’t be blatant about it. One example is if you are going to hand them a prescription then also hand them a leaflet with that.
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c) Alternative approach |
HCPs should start by talking about other health issues first that are related to obesity such as heart problems, diabetes. He told me about the quit smoking scheme and when we talked about that I felt I opened up and I thought I might as well speak to him about the rest of my health also. Leaflets shouldn’t make people feel like it’s targeting them specifically but something that is about someone else but then at the same time it contains information that is relevant to the person reading it also. If there was some pre-conversation that led up to that then that would be OK otherwise if it started like that she would know exactly what you are trying to say and the barrier would go up straight away.
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d) Differences | |
Sex |
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Cultural |
The only stories you would hear is ‘she’s slimmer than you and she’s prettier than you because you’re fatter than her’. Being Asian or of a Middle Eastern culture, we are not as bothered about how we look. I think that some of that mentality still exists in our culture. If someone is chubby they say he has ‘jaan’ meaning he’s strong and healthy.
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Physical |
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e) Patient empowerment |
If there were leaflets that people can pick up with some information on who to talk to and what to do then people can decide themselves if they wanted to discuss it with their doctor. It’s about empowering people rather than them being told how to live their lives by professionals. I did speak to my GP and he referred me.
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f) Mis(use) of phrases |
If there isn’t a service then you can tell people about being healthy. It’s like you said it’s better to say this would be better for your health for you rather than your weight. It’s a better way of phrasing it.
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