Caring for the Underserved: Using Patient and Physician Focus Groups to Inform Curriculum Development

Background.—Training pediatric residents to care for the underserved is a recognized curricular need. A literature review revealed that curricula specific to caring for the underserved tend to focus on specific medical diagnoses rather than physician or patient behaviors.

Objective.—To collect and evaluate information essential for developing a curriculum to teach care for the underserved.

Methods.—Focus groups were conducted to identify themes responsive to the question, “What does a physician need to know to care for the underserved?” Each of 3 focus groups met twice. The physician group included 5 pediatricians and 3 family practitioners. There were 2 patient groups: one Spanish-speaking (N = 13) and one English-speaking (N = 8). Content analysis was used to identify themes from each of the focus groups.

Results.—Prevailing themes from the 3 groups were communication/respect, cultural issues, and frustration with systems, such as health insurance, transportation, and health delivery systems. Patients expressed an almost universal wish for physicians to listen to them and to attempt to “understand my life.” Physicians expressed concerns with lacking the time to establish quality patient relationships and the need to serve multiple roles. The groups did not discuss issues related to specific medical conditions.

Conclusions.—Physicians and underserved patients identified communication/respect, cultural issues, and frustration with systems, such as health insurance, transportation, and health delivery systems, as important factors in caring for the underserved. Curricula to teach care of the underserved should include these themes.

KEY WORDS:  education , focus groups , underserved populations