Helping Health Care Providers Recognize and Respond to Sensitive Issues

Abstract

Sensitive issues are both common and problematic for health care providers because sensitive issues may interfere with the future provider-client relationship and effective care. Most current training for providers focuses on a particular issue, but this is inadequate because many issues may be sensitive, and which issues will be sensitive is unpredictable. We argue that issues become sensitive when they activate one or more of three common triggers, fear, stigma, and taboo. A cycle of negative internal and interpersonal responses to the sensitive issue often leads to unresolved health issues for clients and stress and feelings of inadequacy for providers. We recommend integrated pre-service and in-service skill building to help individual health care providers respond appropriately to a wide variety of sensitive issues. We also identify specific policies and procedures to strengthen organizational support for caregivers so that providers can address these sensitive issues effectively with their clients.