6

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (Oct/Nov 2020). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [8] McKinstry and Wang (1991) investigated non-verbal communication, asking patients to rate doctors in various forms of dress (e.g., formal suit, informal jeans) from photographs. They found that 28% of patients were unhappy seeing informally dressed doctors, a majority felt doctor's dress was important, and 41% had more confidence in doctors who were formally dressed. The male doctor in suit and tie and female doctor in white coat were most preferred.
2. [8] McKinlay (1975) explored verbal communication by interviewing lower-class under-users of maternity services in Aberdeen, Scotland, about words used by practitioners. It was found that those who used services less frequently had the lowest understanding of only two words, and women often understood words better than practitioners anticipated.
3. [8] Ley (1988) examined verbal communication concerning patients' forgetting of practitioner advice, linking it to factors like order, amount, and nature of information, perceived importance, and patient characteristics (age, anxiety, medical knowledge). Ley proposed that practitioners should use simple language, deliver key information first, provide concrete and categorised advice (diagnosis, treatment, prognosis), repeat key points, and offer a summary at the end of the consultation.
4. [10] Named issue - Quantitative and qualitative data: The ease of collecting quantitative data versus the potential lack of validity if qualitative data is not collected. Data from McKinstry and Wang and McKinlay is arguably qualitative initially, then converted to quantitative. McKinstry and Wang collected a large amount of quantitative data from 475 participants, analysed by social class and age, with some qualitative data (e.g., objectionable clothing). McKinlay's self-report data was largely quantitative;
5. [10] Generalisability;
6. [10] Practical Applications;
7. [10] Methods;
8. [10] Reliability and Validity;