Imagine, at your next checkup, you mention to the doctor that you’ve been experiencing splitting headaches accompanied by bright lights—classic migraine symptoms. They glance up from their clipboard, offer to write you a prescription, and then say, “These symptoms are normal, and most people experience them at some point in their lives.”
What’s your next move? Do you take the prescription or soldier through?
According to a new study published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour, you may be less likely to seek treatment after the doctor’s remark.
A team of researchers from the University of California San Diego conducted 14 experiments to find how “normalizing language” from physicians affects the behavior of patients. The participants read medical scenarios where a healthcare provider described the symptoms as “normal” or not. The researchers then asked them whether they’d be willing to pursue further treatment and compared it to the healthcare providers’ expectations.
Read more: “Why Reading Your Doctor’s Notes Can Be Painful”
They found a substantial gap. Introducing normalization language discouraged the participants from seeking treatment, which the doctors didn’t expect or intend. “Providers expected that normalizing a patient’s symptoms would increase their treatment likelihood, or at worst have no impact, but patients actually reacted in the opposite way,” study author Seyi Lawal explained in a statement.
When doctors describe symptoms as “normal,” they typically mean it’s statistically common. Unfortunately, when those of us who haven’t been to medical school hear our experiences described that way, we tend to translate it as “not worth addressing.”
The good news is that this problem is fixable. The researchers tested two different scripts designed to bridge the communication gap. The first included the physician’s explicit support for treatment. The second cautioned that “normal” is purely a statistical designation, and that because these symptoms are so common, there are plenty of ways to manage them. Both worked.
“Doctors shouldn’t stop reassuring patients,” study author On Amir said. “But they should make their meaning unmistakable.”
Enjoying Nautilus? Subscribe to our free newsletter.
Lead image: sense and Town GFX / Adobe Stock
