A case study of a family referred for clarification of cultural issues illustrates how a transcultural psychiatric service developed in the pediatric hospital setting can be used to advantage. A Vietnamese family with an inherited disorder, Mucopolysaccharidosis type VI (Maroteaux-Lamy syndrome, MPS VI),1 resisted genetic counseling and contraception. Three out of their six children were affected, one with a fatal outcome. The transcultural consultation offered an understanding of their behavior and facilitated subsequent management.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Fong LV, Menahem S., Wraith JE, et al. Endocardial fibroelastosis in mucopolysaccharidosis type VI . Clinical Cardiology10:362-4.
2.
Good B.The heart of what's the matter: the semantics of illness in Iran. Cult Med Psychiatry1977;1:104-38.
3.
Good BJ, Good MDThe meaning of symptoms: A cultural hermeneutic model for clinical practice . In: Eisenberg L and Kleinman A. eds. The Relevance of Social Science for Medicine. Boston: D. Riedel , 1981:165-96.
4.
Katon W. and Kleinman A.Doctor-patient negotiation and other social science strategies in patient care, In Eisenberg L, Kleinman A. eds. The Relevance of Social Science for Medicine. Boston: D. Riedel , 1981:253-82.
5.
Kleinman A.Concepts and a model for the comparison of medical systems as cultural systems . Soc Sci Med1978;12:85-93.
6.
Korsch BM, Ethel K., Gozzi Phn, et al. Gaps in doctor-patient communication: Doctor-patient interaction and patient satisfaction. Pediatrics1968;42:855-71.
7.
Menahem S.Teaching students of medicine to listen: the missed diagnosis from a hidden agenda. J R Soc Med1987;(June):343-6.
8.
Raimbault G. , Cachin O., Limal JM, et al. Aspects of communication between patients and doctors: an analysis of the discourse in medical interviews. Pediatrics1975;55:401-5.
9.
Yudkin S.Six children with coughs. The second diagnosis. Lancet1961;ii:561-3.
10.
Kleinman A.Clinically applied anthropology on a psychiatric consultation-liaison service , In: Eisenberg L, Kleinman A. eds. The Relevance of Social Science for Medicine . Boston: D. Riedel, 1981:83-117.
11.
Obeyesekere G.Theodicy, sin and salvation in a sociology of Buddhism. In: Cambridge Papers in Social Anthropology: Dialectic in Practical Religion. Leach ER, ed., Cambridge: Cambridge University Press , 1977:7-40.
12.
Babb LADestiny and responsibility: karma in popular Hinduism. In: Karma, Keyes C, Daniel EV, eds., Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983:163-81.
13.
Eisenbruch IM 'Wind illness' or somatic depression? A case study in psychiatric anthropology. Br J Psychiatry1983;143:323-26.
14.
Hickey G.Village in Vietnam. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1964.
