Bridging the Communication Gap in Health Care

Dr. Mora Claramita is Professor and Head of the Department of Medical Health Professions Education and Bioethics in the Faculty of Medicine Public Health and Nursing at the Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogyakarta, Indonesia. She has been practicing as GP for more than 20 years and has published books on intellectual property rights in addition to several medical publications. She has received international and national awards in the area of medical education and primary care, such as the Lyn Clearihan Award and The University of Iowa Award. She was Fulbright Senior Scholar, FAIMER-Fellow, and Fellow in the Australia Fellowship Program. Astrid Pratidina Susilo, MD, MPH, Ph.D, is an anaesthesiologist and a researcher in health professions and medical education. Astrid graduated as a Medical Doctor from Universitas Airlangga, Indonesia, pursued her Master of Public Health and a Ph.D in health professions education from Maastricht University the Netherlands. She did her residency training in Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care in Universitas Indonesia. Astrid has received awards from STUNED (the Netherlands) for her master study and a grant from The Prince Leopold Institute of Tropical Medicine in Belgium to strengthen her research skills. She is currently an academic staff in the Department of Medical Education and Bioethics in the Faculty of Medicine Universitas Surabaya Indonesia. She is actively engaged in the teaching and learning of communication skills, and has conducted several studies on communication skills training, patient safety, and pain education. She has published her work in national and international journals, as well as in books and book chapters. As a clinician, she also has extensive experience working in different cultural contexts nationwide such as in Java, Sumatera, Sulawesi, and Kalimantan, which contributed to her perspectives in teaching, learning, and researching communication skills.

• 1. Understanding the context of social-hierarchies / wide-power distance and collectivistic culture.- 2.How culture influence communication in healthcare: learning from culturally bounded evidence.- 3.The communication gap in healthcare: a challenge in patient safety.- 4.Preparing future health professionals to bridge the cultural communication gap.- 5.Strengthening the evidence: ‘Way to elaborate the culture’ and ‘Way forward’ for patient safety.