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Communicating Taboo Health Subjects: Perspectives from Organizational Leadership, Clinical Psychology, and Social Work

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Transforming Global Health

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Abstract

Worldwide, improving health literacy is a compelling need. Health literacy is the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, synthesize, and understand basic health information and processes needed to make appropriate health decisions. The use of code speak and inadequate communication about taboo subjects undermines efforts to understand basic health information and services. The interrelationship between serious illness, dying, death, and fear influences how diagnoses and prognoses are understood, whether or not and how treatment is delivered. Clear communication taking cognizance of cultural and societal characteristics will optimize understanding about death/dying/illness. It is essential for helping people who have serious illnesses to make meaningful choices when they are nearing death. This chapter describes the imperative to have a clear understanding of the best practices in different cultural settings to meet the needs of the dying in addressing death at individuals’ level of comfort.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Code speak refers to issues or topics that are not easily discussed in certain cultures, so we use encrypted ways of conveying the message.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. University at Buffalo, State University of New York (SUNY), Buffalo, NY, USA

    Dorothy Siaw-Asamoah

  2. 37 Military Hospital, Accra, Ghana

    Erica Danfrekua Dickson

  3. University of Ghana, Accra, Ghana

    Emma Seyram Hamenoo

  4. University at Buffalo, State University of New York (SUNY), Buffalo, NY, USA

    Deborah Waldrop

Authors
  1. Dorothy Siaw-Asamoah
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  2. Erica Danfrekua Dickson
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  3. Emma Seyram Hamenoo
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  4. Deborah Waldrop
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dorothy Siaw-Asamoah .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Architecture and Planning, University at Buffalo, State University of New York (SUNY), Buffalo, NY, USA

    Korydon H. Smith

  2. United States Agency for International Development, Washington, DC, USA

    Pavani Kalluri Ram

Appendices

Appendix 1: A Partial List of Movements

Canadian Virtual Hospice: http://www.virtualhospice.ca/en_US/Main+Site+Navigation/Home/For+Professionals/For+Professionals/Tools+for+Practice/Education/End+of+Life+_+Palliative+Education+Resource+Center+(EPERC).aspx.

ELNEC: https://elnec.academy.reliaslearning.com/.

Death Cafes (international): http://deathcafe.com/.

Green Burial Council: https://greenburialcouncil.org/home/what-is-green-burial/.

Dying Matters (UK): https://www.dyingmatters.org/.

National Healthcare Decisions Day (US): https://www.nhdd.org/.

Speak UP (Canada): http://www.advancecareplanning.ca/.

The Conversation Project: https://theconversationproject.org/.

Respecting Choices: http://www.gundersenhealth.org/respecting-choices/.

VitalTalk: http://vitaltalk.org/.

My Gift of Grace/Hello: https://www.mygiftofgrace.com/.

World Health Organization: http://www.who.int/cancer/palliative/definition/en/.

Appendix 2: Other Examples of Taboo Topics in Health Communication—A Start List of Future Reading

There are many other health-related topics that are taboo and often addressed in code speak. Here is a beginning list of possibilities.

Sexuality, Menstruation, Contraception

Aizenman, N. (2015). People are finally talking about the thing nobody wants to talk about. In Goats and Soca. National Public Radio: All Things Considered.

Kragelund Nielsen, K., Malue Nielsen, S., Buttler, R., & Lazarus, J. V. (2012). Key barriers to the use of modern contraceptives among women in Albania: A qualitative study. Reproductive Health Matters, 20(40), 158–165.

Mellor, R. M., Greenfield, S. M., Dowswell, G., Sheppard, J. P., Quinn, T., & McManus, R. J. (2013). Health care professionals’ views on discussing sexual wellbeing with patients who have had a stroke: A qualitative study. PLoS ONE [Electronic Resource].

Nambambi, N. M., & Mufune, P. (2011). What is talked about when parents discuss sex with children: Family based sex education in Windhoek, Namibia. African Journal of Reproductive Health, 15(4), 120–129.

Rani, A., Kumar Sharma, M., & Singh, A. (2016). Practices and perceptions of adolescent girls regarding the impact of dysmenorrhea on their routine life: A comparative study in the urban, rural, and slum areas of Chandigarh. International Journal of Adolescent Medical Health, 28(1), 3–9.

Redelman, M. J. (2008). Is there a place for sexuality in the holistic care of patients in the palliative care phase of life? American Journal of Hospice & Palliative Medicine, 25(5), 366–371.

Warriner, J., & Power, L. (2009). Let’s talk about sex. British Journal of Nursing, 18(22), 1356.

Vaccines in Pregnancy

de Martino, M. (2016). Dismantling the taboo against vaccines in pregnancy. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 17(894). doi: 10:3390/ijms17060894

Cancer Screening

Hicks, E. M., Litwin, M. S., & Maliski, S. L. (2014). Latino men and familial risk communication about prostate cancer. Oncology Nursing Society, 41(5), 509–516.

Rohan, E. A., Boehm, J. E., DeGroff, A., Glover-Kudon, R., & Preissie, J. (2013). Implementing the CDC’s colorectal cancer screening demonstration program: Wisdom from the field. Cancer (August 1, 2013).

Mental Health, Dementia

Kaduszkiewicz, H., Bachmann, C., & van den Bussche, H. (2008). Telling “the truth” in dementia--Do attitude and approach of general practitioners and specialists differ? Patient Education and Counseling70, 220–226.

Steinberg, D. S., & C.T., W. (2017). OCD Taboo thoughts and stigmatizing attitudes in clinicians. Journal of Community Mental Health, 53, 275–280.

Obesity

Katz, A. (2014). The last taboo? Oncology Nursing Forum, 41(5), 455.

Pregnancy (de Martino, 2016).

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Siaw-Asamoah, D., Dickson, E.D., Hamenoo, E.S., Waldrop, D. (2020). Communicating Taboo Health Subjects: Perspectives from Organizational Leadership, Clinical Psychology, and Social Work. In: Smith, K., Ram, P. (eds) Transforming Global Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32112-3_13

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32112-3_13

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