Exploring Male And Female Healthcare Provider Communication With Alzheimer’s Patients: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Today, Alzheimer’s is a devastating disease that affects more than 46.8 million people worldwide. Caring for people with AD is stressful and emotionally draining for both family members and healthcare providers and would be exacerbated by the breakdown in communication. While communication challenges can take many forms, one understudied area in AD patient-provider communication is how gender role might affect the outcomes and perceived feelings during interaction. Without knowledge and attentiveness of how gender may affect patient-provider communication, healthcare providers may become more frustrated in their attempts to apply unadjusted skills, which can cause further breakdown and stress. This study is to explore how gender might be a role affecting caregiving communication within the context of Alzheimer’s. Eleven participants were recruited to have a semi-structured interview through online flyers. The findings from this study yield broad suggestions for future work within the field of Alzheimer’s communication research and specific suggestions for designing the communication training.