Clinical terminology: anxiety and confusion amongst families undergoing genetic counseling

Genetic counseling is a rapidly expanding, but highly demanding, domain of doctor-patient communication. This paper reports results from an ethnographic study of families (n = 30) attending a genetic counseling clinic in Northern England. We suggest that the language used in this particular specialty is often confusing and misunderstood by the families involved. We found that unfamiliar terms may also conjure up alarming images. It is important therefore, that physicians, and in particular geneticists, try to use simple, understandable language, and give clear explanations for unfamiliar terms that cannot be avoided. The careful choice of words, and detailed explanation, not only reduces the risks of ''labelling'' and stigmatization, but may also prevent the unnecessary anxiety experienced by patients when they hear unfamiliar medical terms, such as the eponyms frequently employed by geneticists when giving a diagnosis. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.