Anthropologists To Study Patient Behaviour at Ealing Hospital A&E
Want to identify cultural factors that shape use of healthcare services
Ealing Hospital Accident & Emergency unit
The Accident & emergency unit at Ealing Hospital is going to become the first the UK to use anthropology to study cultural factors that may be shaping people’s behaviours to illness and their use of healthcare services.
The department will run the year-long project with the support of three doctors with an interest in anthropology in one of the most culturally diverse areas in the UK.
A larger proportion of the local population come from Black, Asian and minority ethnic groups with representation from more than 200 countries. The team hopes to identify repeating patterns of behaviour among groups that may be resolved with more targeted medical and non-medical interventions.
A&E consultant Paul Tanto will lead the research with initial focus on the large number of young people coming into A&E complaining of chest pains, despite their age precluding the likelihood of a heart attack.
Paul said: “The majority are given a clean bill of health but something is obviously going on, and a lot of time and resources are being used for medical investigation. We often look at illness as a purely physical ailment without looking at the bigger picture. If we can identify a cause, we can deliver better treatment as well as reduce the cost of heart-related tests.”
Holly Coltart joined the department earlier this summer having recently completed an MA in anthropology in the United States and is one of the three junior doctors involved in the project.
Holly said, “Medical anthropology is well established in America and I jumped at the chance when the post was advertised. It offers a new approach to quality improvement in the emergency department. We're excited to be part of such an innovative project".
Paul added, “There is no point doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. You need to be constantly looking at how to improve services and patient care. Some things work and some things don’t, but you never know until you try. The initial clues will be in the medical data we collect and analyse. This will help us identify the demographics, such as patient age, gender and ethnicity, and when, why and what they come into A&E for.
“I’ve been interested in this topic for a few years and it is obvious there are trends and patterns being repeated in A&E without even looking at the data. Our aim is to have a better understanding of our patients so we can improve outcomes and make better use of resources. At present, we carry out around 3,000 tests for suspected heart conditions a month.”
Studies undertaken by medical anthropologists elsewhere in the world include research into the impact of AIDS on Central African societies, the effect of migration on the mental health of refugees, and the trauma suffered by families living in war zones.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
October 13, 2022