Abstract

This thesis examines the impact of socio-culturally conditioned doctor-patient interaction, on individual's subjective perceptions of health status. The medical encounter is a complex social situation, marked by an unequal distribution of power and control, poor patient-practitioner communication, and imperfect medical knowledge on the part of both doctors and patients. Doctors are socio-culturally endowed with a greater share of the power to impose interpretations of the situation than patients. Individuals in health crises are more vulnerable to and less likely to resist others' impressions. Qualitative analysis of eight face to face, semi-structured interviews has been used in an effort to grasp patients' subjective perceptions. This study shows that these eight respondents' perceptions of health status changed subsequent to medical encounters