New study shows three in four people like to be called "patients" not "clients

Citation

(2001), "New study shows three in four people like to be called "patients" not "clients", International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, Vol. 14 No. 2. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijhcqa.2001.06214bab.002

New study shows three in four people like to be called "patients" not "clients"

New study shows three in four people like to be called "patients" not "clients"

A survey of people attending a psychiatric clinic has found that as many as 77 per cent prefer the term "patient" to "client". The study, by Dr C.W. Ritchie and colleagues is published in the December issue of the Psychiatric Bulletin and challenges what is already accepted practice in many hospitals.

According to the article, there has been a continuing debate about the "political correctness" of different words for describing health care users. Those who object to the term "patient", argue that both the derivation of the word "patient" – from the Latin patiens, to suffer or bear – and modern usage imply an unequal relationship, label people as ill and do not allow the sufferer to demonstrate responsibility in maintaining their own health.

However, "client" is also derived from a Latin word cliens, which means "one who is obliged to make supplications to a powerful figure for material assistance". Supporters of the term patient argue that the word client lacks the compassion and trust inherent within the relationship between the sick and their carers. The use of the term client is particularly common within psychiatric settings, especially among non-medical staff.

This study, carried out in the psychiatric outpatient clinic of an inner city London teaching hospital, aimed to discover what the clients/patients themselves actually preferred. The 147 people attending the clinic completed a questionnaire indicating their preferences for the term patient, client or "other", and were asked about their attitudes to the terms patient and client using a five-point rating scale. They also provided other socio-demographic and psychiatric information.

Ninety-six per cent of the respondents expressed a preference for either patient or client, of whom 77 per cent preferred patient and 23 per cent client. This did not vary significantly by socio-demographic grouping or by psychiatric diagnosis, except that an increased majority who had never been in-patients were in favour of the term patient.

Of the sample, 47 per cent either disliked or strongly disliked the term client, with only 14 per cent feeling the same way about the word patient. Only 1 per cent strongly preferred the term client, but 10 per cent preferred the word patient. Overall, there was significantly more antipathy towards the term client.

Men and people over the age of 40 had a significantly more positive attitude towards the term patient than younger people and women. Significantly greater antipathy towards the term client was associated with a diagnosis of depression, white UK ethnicity and never having been an in-patient. No group showed a positive attitude towards the term client.

The authors comment that in everyday usage the term patient is associated with a traditional relationship with a doctor, and client with a business relationship. The fact that people over 40 prefer the term patient may reflect their wish to retain traditional terminology; and the dislike of the term client by those who are depressed may indicate a resistance to a term that lacks compassion and connotations of care.

For further information contact Dr C.W. Ritchie. Tel: +44 (0)20 7794 0500.