Netherlands: 49% think doctors should take religious and cultural norms into consideration

49% think that family doctors should take the religious and cultural notions of their patients into account.  This according to a study which would be presented Tuesday by research institute NIVEL.

The study was held after the commotion last year when a Muslim couple refused the help of a male gynecologist.  [ed. I don't know of any story where a woman refused such help.]

Religious and cultural notions can also play a role in the question of whether people want to be vacinnated or whether they'll accept blood transfusions.  Cultural traditions often play a role in the therapy-trust of a patient.

27% thought that doctors should not take their patients religious or cultural background into account.

Source: Trouw (Dutch)

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

There was a story last spring of a couple in the States who lost their baby because they refused the help of a male obsetrician, then sued and lost. I searched for it but I kept coming up with results for that lady who locked her baby in a hot car.
And they're doctors, not anthropologists. They take a hippocratic oath. That should be a two-way street whereby they accept the doctor so long as he/she operates accoording to best medical practices.