Perceptualand Motor Skills, 1990, 70, 97-98.
O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1990
CONTEMPORARY OPINIONS ON HEALTH ISSUES: ANOTHER LOOK' J O H N TRINKAUS Baruch College Summary.-In a comparison of 802 undergraduates, in the main between 17 and 23 yr. old, with 211 physicians who responded to an Hippocrates survey, most agreed that a mother should be informed by physicians that her teenage daughter is pregnant, but students were less inclined than physicians to misrepresent to an insurance company the reason for a screening test, and more in favor than physicians of acknowledging an error in medication. Understanding of values is desirable as is their recognition of influences on the future of society. Trinkaus (1) compared business students' answers to a set of health-related questions with those resulting from a Gallup poll of the general public. To gather more data on such contrasts, another inquiry was conducted a year later during the fall of 1989. The study was done at the same academy, a large ~ u b l i cbusiness college in the Northeast, using another convenience sample and a different group of health-oriented interrogatories. This time the queries were part of a survey of 211 ~ h ~ s i c i a nins the Northeast, conducted by an internist, the results of which are reported in Hippocrates (2), a magazine ~ r n i d i ninformation ~ on subjects in the fields of health and medicine. To a written questionnaire, 802 out of 811 undergraduate students ~rovidedresponses. The students were in the first year of college and approximately represented the socioeconomic setting of rhe u r b a r ~area in which the school is located. Their characteristics were approximately as follows: 59% women and 41% men, 75% citizens and 25% aliens, and 17% 17 yr. or less of age, 67% 18 to 20 yr. old, 8% 2 1 to 23 yr. old, and 8% over 23 yr. old. Three questions were asked, with replies limited to "yes" or "no." (1) Should a doctor tell a mother who brings her teenage daughcer in to be checked for nausea chat the girl is pregnant? (2) Should a ~hysicianmisrepresent the reason for a screening test so that a low-income patient's insurance company will pay for it? (3) Should a doctor tell the family of a patient, who died because the doctor accidentally gave him a drug overdose, the cause of death? Students' affirmative responses, by sex, citizenship, and age are shown in the table below. Students were generally in agreement with the physicians that they should inform a mother as to her teenager's pregnancy. As for misrepresenting the reason for a screening test, the students were less inclined than were che physicians to deceive an insurance company. Concerning admission of a fatal medication mistake, the students expressed a greater tendency than the physicians to acknowledge an error. That there was relatively close agreement on the pregnancy question is perhaps understandable, as both groups probably viewed the situation as neutral parties, acting in support of a mother's right to be informed about the well-being of her child. O n the misrepresentation matter, that physicians were more apt to dupe an insurance carrier might well be attributable to a feeling by the physicians as to the importance of their obligation for the health of their patients, relative to their duty to comply with insurance companies' directives. However, one might have expected that the students would have been more in agreement with the physicians, possibly idealistically tending to view the fitness of low-income persons, who might well be themselves, 'Address correspondence to J. Trinkaus, Ph.D., Baruch College, 17 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
98
J. TRINKAUS
as more important than the profit of the insurer. Concerning the admission of culpability, in view of the contemporary notoriety being focused on medical malpractice, it is conceivable that students, as actual or potential patients, would be more supportive of disclosure than physicians.
Respondents
n
Pregnancy
Insurance
Overdose
f
f
f
Yo
%
Yo
Hippocrotes
Students Men Women Citizen Alien Age < 17 yc old 18-20 yr. old 21-23 yr. old > 2 3 yr. old The findings suggcsr that physicians and smdents have both similar and differing values, where values are d e f u ~ e das perceptions or measures of desirability or preference. That there would be similarities and differences is not too surprising. Many times the values of differing individuals and groups, the result of unique sets of beliefs as to what is in their best self interest, are neither markedly disparate or entirely alike. However, while comparisons and contrast of the values of entities or dusters of people is important in understnnhng the workings of a society, perhaps of more importance is recognition chat often times the future of a society is determined by, and is reflected in, its values. REFERENCES 1. TRINKAUS, J. Conremporary opinions on health issues: an informal look. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1989, 69, 867-871. 2. When doctors deceive. Hippocrates, 1989, 3(5), 13-14. Accepted January 1 1 , 1990
O Perceptual and Motor Skills 1990
CONTEMPORARY OPINIONS ON HEALTH ISSUES: ANOTHER LOOK' J O H N TRINKAUS Baruch College Summary.-In a comparison of 802 undergraduates, in the main between 17 and 23 yr. old, with 211 physicians who responded to an Hippocrates survey, most agreed that a mother should be informed by physicians that her teenage daughter is pregnant, but students were less inclined than physicians to misrepresent to an insurance company the reason for a screening test, and more in favor than physicians of acknowledging an error in medication. Understanding of values is desirable as is their recognition of influences on the future of society. Trinkaus (1) compared business students' answers to a set of health-related questions with those resulting from a Gallup poll of the general public. To gather more data on such contrasts, another inquiry was conducted a year later during the fall of 1989. The study was done at the same academy, a large ~ u b l i cbusiness college in the Northeast, using another convenience sample and a different group of health-oriented interrogatories. This time the queries were part of a survey of 211 ~ h ~ s i c i a nins the Northeast, conducted by an internist, the results of which are reported in Hippocrates (2), a magazine ~ r n i d i ninformation ~ on subjects in the fields of health and medicine. To a written questionnaire, 802 out of 811 undergraduate students ~rovidedresponses. The students were in the first year of college and approximately represented the socioeconomic setting of rhe u r b a r ~area in which the school is located. Their characteristics were approximately as follows: 59% women and 41% men, 75% citizens and 25% aliens, and 17% 17 yr. or less of age, 67% 18 to 20 yr. old, 8% 2 1 to 23 yr. old, and 8% over 23 yr. old. Three questions were asked, with replies limited to "yes" or "no." (1) Should a doctor tell a mother who brings her teenage daughcer in to be checked for nausea chat the girl is pregnant? (2) Should a ~hysicianmisrepresent the reason for a screening test so that a low-income patient's insurance company will pay for it? (3) Should a doctor tell the family of a patient, who died because the doctor accidentally gave him a drug overdose, the cause of death? Students' affirmative responses, by sex, citizenship, and age are shown in the table below. Students were generally in agreement with the physicians that they should inform a mother as to her teenager's pregnancy. As for misrepresenting the reason for a screening test, the students were less inclined than were che physicians to deceive an insurance company. Concerning admission of a fatal medication mistake, the students expressed a greater tendency than the physicians to acknowledge an error. That there was relatively close agreement on the pregnancy question is perhaps understandable, as both groups probably viewed the situation as neutral parties, acting in support of a mother's right to be informed about the well-being of her child. O n the misrepresentation matter, that physicians were more apt to dupe an insurance carrier might well be attributable to a feeling by the physicians as to the importance of their obligation for the health of their patients, relative to their duty to comply with insurance companies' directives. However, one might have expected that the students would have been more in agreement with the physicians, possibly idealistically tending to view the fitness of low-income persons, who might well be themselves, 'Address correspondence to J. Trinkaus, Ph.D., Baruch College, 17 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
98
J. TRINKAUS
as more important than the profit of the insurer. Concerning the admission of culpability, in view of the contemporary notoriety being focused on medical malpractice, it is conceivable that students, as actual or potential patients, would be more supportive of disclosure than physicians.
Respondents
n
Pregnancy
Insurance
Overdose
f
f
f
Yo
%
Yo
Hippocrotes
Students Men Women Citizen Alien Age < 17 yc old 18-20 yr. old 21-23 yr. old > 2 3 yr. old The findings suggcsr that physicians and smdents have both similar and differing values, where values are d e f u ~ e das perceptions or measures of desirability or preference. That there would be similarities and differences is not too surprising. Many times the values of differing individuals and groups, the result of unique sets of beliefs as to what is in their best self interest, are neither markedly disparate or entirely alike. However, while comparisons and contrast of the values of entities or dusters of people is important in understnnhng the workings of a society, perhaps of more importance is recognition chat often times the future of a society is determined by, and is reflected in, its values. REFERENCES 1. TRINKAUS, J. Conremporary opinions on health issues: an informal look. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1989, 69, 867-871. 2. When doctors deceive. Hippocrates, 1989, 3(5), 13-14. Accepted January 1 1 , 1990
