Patient-centered care: The effects of cultural capital on the patient-provider relationship

Patients and care providers fail to embrace the quality-driven relationships that were once part of the clinical consultation. To improve what some have referred to as a dampened relationship social scientists and medical professionals are pursuing a 'patient-centered' model where healthcare is delivered in ways that are "respectful and responsive to individual patient preferences, needs, and values" (Institute of Medicine 2001:6). The model sets standards for identifying and responding to patient concerns regarding illness and treatment, and cherishes the benefits of shared decision-making and responsibility (Epstein 2000). Undoubtedly, this model works best when the patient's interest and values are central to the delivery of care.;A sample survey of 94 patients seeking treatment at an urban, hospital-based primary care clinic, are analyzed to answer three separate, but fundamental questions: 1) Is there a significant association between components of cultural capital (marital status and/or education) and patient-centered events? 2) Does the presence of any of these patient-centered events associate itself with a patient's overall experience? And 3) is there a significant association between components of cultural capital and overall patient experience? I hypothesize that marital status and/or education are directly associated with the presence of patient-centered events, that the presence of any one patient centered event is positively correlated with the overall clinical experience, and that a patients overall experience is directly associated with marital status and/or education.