"Alvaro" #03

Even though he can understand some English, he prefers having an interpreter present when visiting the doctor. "Since it's a doctor, just to make sure, it's better to ask for a translator. Because many times the doctor says one word and you understand another one, and then they don't match. And it's better to be sure, as they say. You ask for one, and that's it. It's not your fault anymore if something goes wrong. It's something else. But even though I don't know English very well, I like to ask for help because if you say something wrong, it's against you. You say it wrong, and it reflects badly on you. Against you."

"Cheung-yu" #05

"[My doctors] are Chinese.... Let's put it this way, if foreigners see you, they definitely discriminate against you.... Yes [I have had non-Chinese doctors before]. When they talk, you know they discriminate against Chinese people.... The attitude was completely different. You can feel it yourself.... Very important, extremely important [to have doctors who are Chinese and speak Chinese].... It's a matter of communication. Language communication is very important. I didn't appreciate it before, but now, when I need it, there's no other way. Fortunately, now there are many Chinese doctors, and everything is done by Chinese people more."

"Daniela" #01

"I think that the medical field and facilities for people of color need to be a little more because we get overlooked. They don't service us as well as they do [with] Caucasian and other races. We are last. Our lives [are] not important to them. And I think it needs to be addressed.... There's so much that needs to be fixed in our health system for people of color."

"Daniela" #16

She is reluctant to go seek medical help sometimes because she doesn't want to be mistreated based on race. "You go to the emergency room, and you sit in there for hours while other people just walk in off the street, and due to color, they get called and get seen and get a doctor and go upstairs and get admitted and everything else, and you're still sitting in the waiting room.... That makes you not want to go. Because I've seen that happen plenty of times with myself."

"Diana" #22

"By me being an addict they think... well she's an addict, she don't know what she feel right now, or that I'm not gonna get the best care because I'm an addict or I was an addict. You know, whatever I am, I'm still a person you see. There was times where I felt that I would have better care if I... wasn't addicted. But I'm not addicted no more, and sometimes I used to feel, well, if I tell them I'm an addict, am I going to get the same treatment as regular people?"

"Eleanor" #02

"Being a rural community, I think [doctors] feel we don't have a good grasp on living a good life. I mean, I really do. [They] kind of look down on us being rural. Because I can see both aspects from being raised in the city and then coming to the farm. They don't value the farmers as they should."

"Konnor" #23

He shares how his identity shapes his health and well-being. "Being an African American male obviously plays a major role. It is an aspect of whatever it is I do, how I'm perceived, and how I'm dealt with. Had I been a white female... asking about an inguinal hernia, would the treatment have been different? The reaction have been different in itself?"

"Maxwell" #09

He recalls experiencing discrimination from a healthcare provider. "When I first went for Social Security to be verified under disability, he said that I was mentally disabled under the fact that I was gay. He was going by the old tenants that Social Security went [by] years ago.... At one point, being gay was defined as a mental disability. No longer. But, they had kept him so long and he had been not updating himself. [Social Security office] even sent me a letter rescinding it and apologizing because he had did that. I wish I would have kept it. It was priceless."

"Rebecca" #10

After undergoing open heart surgery, she voiced her concerns to her cardiologist about the healing of her scar but felt that her concerns were ignored. She went to her internist who finally listened to her. "I was complaining to my internist, about the scar, and [he] looked at it, and he goes, 'It looks to be okay with me.' And I felt comfortable with that because he actually looked at it and he felt it.... But he said, 'I'm a little bit concerned about some of the pain and pressure you talked about having.'... So I had another test. They call me with the results. And my valve that they put in is thickening, tightening, [and] blood is leaking. So, if I had to just listen to the specialists in the area, I wouldn't be looking at maybe having another heart surgery. And don't get me wrong, I don't want another heart surgery. I just want to be healthy.... I was thinking, why didn't you want to come and look at it? Why did the other [doctor] not want to do a test? What is that about? Is that racism? Is that not liking an assertive woman who's saying I want to be taken care of? Is that both? You know, what is that about? Well, if you don't talk up for yourself, it won't happen."

"Yuen" #01

"[I have experienced discrimination] if I go to places opened by foreigners. I've experienced once or twice that they would [look at me and tell me] “Wait!".... If they show such an attitude, I won't go to that place anymore. I'll go to another place.... [These experiences happened] when I went with the elderly to public clinics.... Because some of my [caretaking] clients were foreigners. So I will go to those places with them, and see them almost like glare at me. But I'm not even the one visiting them, it was the foreigner [client]."

"Daniela" #10

In her healthcare experiences, she has felt overprescribed and not listened to about her concerns about how medications were making her feel. "I go down there and stuff. I got a heart murmur, I got diabetes, I got high blood pressure, and stuff. You know, and I think they just issue out medicine. I tell them, this is making me feel like this and stuff. Oh, well, it only be that way for a little while and stuff and it'll get better. But we need you to keep doing that. But it's making me not feel good. And if you're stripping me of not feeling good, how is that helping me?"

"Jessica" #07

“So, when many elderly people get their prescriptions, how is it possible that an elder needs twenty medications a day?…. [They] show their prescription, I was like scratching my head, 'how come you need so many medications a day?' They say the doctors prescribed…. so they get them [from the pharmacy]. I tell them you actually can't handle so many doses of medication. Sometimes, when they see the doctors.... those stick-on arthritis patches so you don't hurt anymore, they get them and actually don't use them. They will ask around, 'Oh, do you want it? Do you want it?' Then, I take a look at their bill which isn't cheap at all—$300 for a box [that's] not used. Are these resources being wasted? Really, shouldn't this be checked? Does this patient really need this? I think sometimes there's really a misuse of these resources."

"Tony" #03

"I ain't never been to a good... doctor. [If I were to go to a good doctor] I'd smile and be happy.... The doctors, they can do a lot for you if you want to. If you want to. Sometimes the doctors just give you some pills. And they ain't going to tell you [if] you're going to feel good after you take this pill.... They ain't never tell you how you feel, when you take them pills. They just give you them pills."

"Diana" #17

"I feel if the doctor's looking down, talking to you, nah. It's a thing where I [need] eye contact, the way you present yourself. Treat me as a patient, not... because I'm an addict, because I was an addict. [Doctors are] asking me questions, but you're not asking me why I'm doing this, how I feel. How I trust them? The way they talk, the way they explain things to me. When they look at you and explain things, if you're talking to me and you're looking the other way, that means that you're not interested in what I'm saying."

"Jodie" #04

"Sometimes it's more of a sense of feeling like [doctors are] actually listening to you, rather than just you feel like you're being patted on the head and directed back to the door. It's [about] good communication and feeling like you can tell your doctor anything and everything that's going on and they're going to not only listen but care. That makes a big difference."

"Melanie" #23

She explains what helps her trust a doctor. "I have an intuition. If I meet somebody, either I'll like them or I don't like them. I know that sounds hard ... but you get a feeling about somebody. ... And, if they spend time with me and listen to what I have to say, number one, and they don't just brush me off in ten minutes and give me a prescription for goodness sake. I'm not a machine. I'm a human being. So yes, if they listen, they explain to you what's going on. In terms, you can understand, and they allow you to make a choice."

"Sandra" #23

The ideal doctor's visit for her would involve them asking how she's doing personally, inquiring about her family, ensuring everyone is okay, and discussing her recent activities. Following that, a discussion about the agenda for the visit, addressing any questions she might have, followed by taking vitals and conducting the exam. She appreciates a more mutual relationship where interaction plays a significant role. Feeling comfortable with someone who cares about her is a crucial aspect of the relationship.

"Konnor" #06

"I have this thing about doctors, and I had this experience with my surgeon for my inguinal hernia. If... I ask you a question and you give me a whole bunch of technical medical terms, that makes me feel uneasy about your abilities... [to] just explain things in normal everyday terms. I assume you went to medical school, right? You got a degree, you're operating. I don't need to know the names for the three layers that you have to cut through.... You don't need to impress me with that kind of stuff. Just explain to me what you're going to do in a way that I understand what it is you're going to do."

"Laura" #15

"[If I had a magic wand to change something about healthcare, it would be] that the healthcare providers, doctors, and nurses... just need to tell you what's wrong with you in a simple way instead of using medical terms. Because I feel like you use medical terms all the time. No one knows what it is and that's why you've got to raise a hand. You've got to be bold to raise your hand and say, 'Wait a minute, I don't understand.' And if you're not bold enough to do that, Well, you're not going to learn what your health problem is."

"Sam" #05

"I trust a doctor if he can sit down and tell me what he think is wrong and explain it to me and not explain it with these words that are 16 digits long. 'Cause he knows I don't know what it means. And... ain't no sense in me sitting here talking to you because I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know if it's good, bad, or indifferent, you know? And I guess you're trying to say that I'm so stupid, I wouldn't understand anyway. And so, that's what pisses me off with a lot of doctors I talk to. They act like, well, ain't no sense in me talking to him, he don't understand this anyway.... [But] if you sit down and explain it to me, you know, I'm not stupid, I can understand things, then maybe I can tell you more that you need to know that's wrong with me, you know."

"Georgia" #21

She prefers and purposefully sought out woman providers. "I just didn't want a male, I just didn't... I feel like I can relate more to a female because... she's a female. She understands. I feel like she'd be more understanding."

"Jessica" #11

When her doctors speak the same language, there's a sense of familiarity and friendliness, in addition to being easier to communicate.

"Kate" #11

"Yeah. Yeah. And... [my doctor] does [share aspects of my identity]. I know that he is a man of faith and... he didn't grow up here, but he's lived here for a good part. So it's nice to have somebody local that knows about the community and... if you needed referrals to different services, that he can do that."

"Konnor" #25

When asked what the benefit of seeing an African American cardiologist would be, he hopes "that [the cardiologist] would speak more to the blackness, I guess. Of the blackness of a medical condition. Maybe it's not different with the heart. You know, a heart's a heart, right? Do African Americans suffer more AFib? I don't know.... I think if he were African American that he would point out differences in medicine and approach it differently.... And to me it would be similar with women. You know, male doctors are notorious for not addressing certain issues with women."

"Laura" #11

She feels that having religious healthcare providers is important. "I believe some of them are. Now, I can tell when some of them are wishy-washy. They might believe in God one day, they might not believe in God the next day. But, I believe my doctor and my nurse practitioner know God, yes." When asked if their faith is important when choosing healthcare providers, she replied, "Yes, it was important for choosing them for... where I live."

"Maude" #13

"In a way, it is [important for my doctor to share a similar identity to me]. Because then they understand you. Some of the ones I see, they're kind of from a small town or something like that.... We all talk, and we listen to each other... because a lot of the people I noticed when they go in there, they don't want to talk to the doctor. I'm going, well, there's nothing wrong with talking to him. I mean, they got the same problems we do."

"Mercedes" #03

Most of her doctors speak Spanish. She prefers not having to use an interpreter because she likes being able to understand what the doctor is saying by herself. "Well, I would like the doctor to speak Spanish, so I can understand everything well, but it's not very… I've been satisfied with how the nurses speak and explain everything to me. And sometimes the doctor also says a few words to me in Spanish."

"Rebecca" #13

She felt more comfortable when she had a doctor who shared her racial identity and culture. "When I was in cardiac rehab hospital there was an African doctor that came in, and he did something that the white doctors didn't do. He came in, introduced himself, got a chair, pulled up to the side of my bed, and talked with me. Not only about what I was feeling, what was good, what was bad, but my mental health.... And that made me feel comfortable. And I think that a lot of times you don't feel comfortable because nobody really understands your culture or who you are and just jump into it. And you don't feel like they get it or they know or they care."

"Sandra" #13

"There was a point which I only wanted a female doctor, because I felt that there was more sensitivity, and also because a lot of the situations I was experiencing were more female in nature, and so I only wanted female doctors."

"Sherrie" #19

"Sometimes, being of color, you wanna see your own doctors. Because they know. Like when I was having hot flashes, I met this doctor who wouldn't give me anything for it. Then this African lady, it's some plant, and it worked well for me. And sometimes a white doctor to me, they don't know the different things about our culture. Sometimes they don't understand. And then I like a woman doctor sometimes too."

"Daisy" #02

"I like [doctors] that'll talk to you. I don't want him to run through the mill. I want him to ask me how I feel. I need a doctor that accepts the fact that I've lived in this body 77 years, and I probably know more about it than he does.... He can do all the tests... but I know how I feel."

"Daniela" #18

She thinks it's important for her providers to see her identities and to listen to her about her health, but she questions if they do. "Oh, I think it's important they should see it all. But do they? I don't know. I go down the hill for my diabetes [and] they give me gabapentin. I said I can't take gabapentin. It makes me jittery.... It takes me back into... my addiction to my dark days. I don't want to go. I don't want to visit them. I don't want to take medicine that wasn't.... I told her about the Metformin and I said, it makes my stomach hurt and it gives me diarrhea and stuff. Yeah. Oh, well just, you know .... Uh, don't, don't take three pills a day, take two a day. And if that don't work, then take one a day and just, you know, take one a day, you know, stuff. Uh, You know, I don't know. It's like a, a general, uh, thing. Once you're, once you're, uh, labeled as a diabetic and, or, or high blood pressure, you know, these things that they say that, are that, are due to our culture and our race and things and our ethnicity of us and stuff, the high, uh, the high part. Uh, of these things, then you just, you, you get category, you get in, you get channel, you know, and, and, and they don't start, they, they look at you as a, uh, facts and statistics."

"Darcy" #17

Doctors validating her feelings and perspectives while being thoughtful of her needs builds trust. "He doesn't blow me off. They listen to what I say. And they validate what I say." Her current doctor does this for her. "And I can tell him, you know, he says, I want you to do this, I said, and you realize that I'm not going to, right? Because I'm going to continue. He goes, yes, I know, but I have to tell you so that you know that this is what I want you to do. I said, okay, consider it, but I'm not going to do it.... He's been my doctor forever. He was my parents' doctor.... [When] my father was diagnosed with lung cancer, he called me [at] home before because he knew I took mom and dad to all their appointments, and we had an appointment with the lung specialist on Monday. So, he calls [at] me home on Sunday, said, I just want you to know this, because somebody's got to have it together when they get to the doctor's appointment tomorrow. And I thought that was very kind. Because I would have been a wreck.... So, yeah, he's a good man.... I won't give up on him."

"Sandra" #17

Her doctor's visits generally go well, but she has encountered some challenges between her perspectives and the medical opinions. Despite not being an MD, she asserts, "Look, I've been living in this body for how many years? I know how it acts. I'm telling you what I really know about me, and I don't think what you're suggesting is going to be in my best interest." However, they are not too comfortable with her assertiveness.

"Darcy" #01

"I had a friend who was a holistic person years ago. And I thought, okay, I'm going to try that. Well, I didn't know what I was doing. I just was kind of messing with it. I thought this is stupid.... Well, there's a holistic gal in town... and so I called, made an appointment with her and I told my RA (Rheumatoid Arthritis) doctor, I said, okay, I'm gonna quit all these medicines. He goes, you're gonna do what? I said quit these medicines and he said, 'Okay, but you're gonna keep seeing me because I'm gonna keep track of you.'... He wanted me to be there every three months to do blood work and then after... a few months he said no every six months and then nine months and he kept stretching out and then finally at my last appointment years ago at this point, he says, 'You're wasting my time and your money. Keep doing what you're doing. If you need me, you've got my number.' So, I've been just taking supplements and things from [holistic friend] and she's changed it over the years because when... I needed it, the RA markers were up, the inflammation was up, so she concentrated on that. When I get my blood work at my doctor, he always checks for inflammation and RA and it's never there."

"Darcy" #11

"There's a place for science medicine, but there's also a place for holistic, and I think they should be allowed to work together.... Because the science stuff, I mean, you listen to TV commercials, you wouldn't take any of that medicine, because it might fix this, but it's going to give you all of these problems.... If it gets to the point I have to take something, I'll take it. But at this point, I don't have to. I go to my primary care every year and get blood work, and the bone density and all the crap."

"Yingtong" #01

"[I trust my family doctor] around fifty to sixty percent.... If there aren't any issues, [I don't need to consult others about my health] right? But if I do feel something, then I would.... I consulted a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) doctor. For example, now when I sleep, my mouth feels very dry, and I have a bit of excessive internal heat. So I didn't specifically tell the doctor much, maybe next time.... So I went to see a TCM doctor, and the TCM doctor said.... 'You have a cold body constitution, so avoid consuming too much cold food, and don't drink milk because it stagnates the stomach'.... I have been there once or twice, and also went for my foot injury. I went to see the bone-setting practitioner a few times [at the Chinese medicine clinic].... Mainly [for] the trouble with my foot, so when I'm older, I think having a caregiver will be good. I've done a lot of treatments for my foot, but there's no way to fully cure it."

"Yuen" #05

"I think combining Western and Chinese medicine is really good in my mind!... From my personal experience and seeing my relatives and friends, those who have passed away and those who have survived, those who were treated successfully and those who weren't. I think that if it's Chinese medicine, it can really condition the body very thoroughly. But.... if it's Chinese medicine, you can only feel the pulse; you can't see what's inside.... So, in this aspect, Western medicine has the capability to write a prescription for you to take an X-ray. So I think combining Western and Chinese medicine can be more helpful for a patient.... Chinese medicine is not covered at all [by health insurance]. Let me tell you an example, like myself, I once let an elderly person sit on my lap.... Because her [house corridor] was quite long, she walked to the washroom's side.... She said, 'I'm dizzy.... Give me a chair to sit on.... Don't put me down! I might have a stroke and die!' That really scared me to death. I was just starting to do care work, so I panicked, I really didn't know what to do.... So I used my knee [and said] 'Granny! Sit on here first!' .... After sitting down, she was fine.... After I left, suddenly, the following week, there was a morning when I couldn't get up.... I went to see the doctor, and the doctor said my knee was inflamed, so they gave me anti-inflammatory medication. I took the medication, but it didn't help. Then my leg swelled up like a pig's trotter. I went to see the doctor, and the doctor said I needed surgery. You know, when I heard the word surgery, I got scared. I didn't want to do it, no matter how serious it was. When I lifted my leg up I cried immediately. It was so painful. Now that I think back, it hurts more than childbirth.... Then I went to the doctor, who gave me a painkiller injection. Then I saw a Chinese medicine doctor, took herbal medicine, and applied traditional Chinese medicinal plasters for more than three months before I recovered and could work again. It was so miserable!"

"Christine" #14

She says that some people face difficulties navigating healthcare options. "We have a lot of local doctors out here now.... There's a change between UPMC and WVU. Some people are caught right in the middle. They don't know what to do."

"Genevieve" #09

"My one doctor, my specialist, he was associated with two different hospitals, Now he's only associated with one of those two. So now, if I have to be admitted, I said, you can't see me over here. I have all my testing done in this hospital over here. But, no, you can't see me because you only practice in this hospital. This one, hospital A, not hospital B. So all those records somehow... have to be filtered from hospital B to hospital A for you to do your job. Hell, I could be dead by then. I could literally die waiting for these doctors to fight the system. I don't know how our doctors get anything done. They have to do too much paperwork."

"Kate" #07

"UH owns our hospital system. And they only refer you to UH doctors. Well, that's fine if that's the best doctor for this problem that I'm having. But if he isn't the best... I want you to refer me [to] who's going to take the best care of me. You know me. You know what... my needs are. I want to be able to have that, you know, I know this guy, he's good. He'll be the one that takes the best care of you, not because the system that I'm in told me I had to refer you to somebody in this system."

"Konnor" #13

"The whole PCP... it's a different world now.... It's more of a system than it is your personal doctor.... Sometimes I go in and I have to see a different doctor. And, maybe I'm a little old fashioned in that way, but it seems to me that seeing the same person over time, they understand your issues and more than just what's in the paperwork, in the chart."

"Konnor" #21

He is knowledgeable about health insurance and hospital changes and trends in Pittsburgh. He explained the main competition between AHN (Allegheny Health Network) and UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), both of which are also insurers. He said that if you have one health insurance versus the other, your cost differs when you see providers from the other network. He opts for a third-party insurance. "We've got two competing, very high-level medical systems that are both funded by health insurers. So when that was going on... if you had one health insurance versus the other, then your costs were gonna be different if you went to the medical provider. So I always had a third party so that I could go to both. So my PCP is an HN. My surgery for my hernia was a HN. My cardiologist is UPMC and my cancer, prostate cancer doctor was UPMC. So, I can pick and choose between the best of both in some sense."

"Sadie" #33

"I have been an advocate for... hospital for years when I worked there, but they sold out to university hospitals, and that's based in Cleveland. They've changed a lot of things, and unfortunately, I don't feel that they went to the right people. And there's people in the community that won't go to the emergency room. They'll rather go to Mansfield because I think has some incapable doctors and treatment, and I don't know if I should even say."

"Daphne" #02

"So, I'm comfortable with all of my doctors. I trust them because, I tell you, because, like I just said, they... We don't just talk just [about] doctor and stuff. We really talk, you know. They ask me how I'm really doing, and then I can express myself. Then I can ask them what they're going to do for the weekend."

"Dennis" #16

My psychiatrist at the VA here in Mobile… is one of the best psychiatrists I've ever experienced. She is wonderful.... She listens. She takes time. She asked questions and she has the time and takes the time to make your visit meaningful. In Atlanta, my psychiatrist… if you got 10 minutes with him once every three months, that was a good session. 'Cause he's got so many patients, they overload him. They need more psychiatric doctors…. All he can do is do the basics of what he absolutely has to. He doesn't have time to really talk to you and allow you to express yourself and things like that. Here is different. She takes the time, whether she's got it or not. She takes the time to talk to you, inquire about your situation. You know, she's just a good doctor."

"Harriet" #05

"Sometimes you go to some doctors, they never sit down. They just come in here and say one or two words and, gone.... But my doctor that I got now... he gets his stool and sit right there in front of you. And we talk and he asks [me if there's] anything else [I] want to know? What was this and what's that. But, when they sit down and act like you family, sit down and talk to you instead of running in and just up and gone. And you hadn't answered nothing!"

"Jessica" #09

"[I'm] very satisfied [with my current doctor]. Not only does he [check up on my health], but he also converses with me about how I've been doing recently. He will ask me how I've been doing. He won't just say, ‘ Oh, today you have to do this [and that]'. Sometimes if things happen in my family, I will also tell him.... After so many years, sometimes he's like a friend.... I've been seeing him for over 10 years now."

"Mercedes" #11

Her favorite doctor asks her a lot of questions and has a long conversation with her. "Well, he asks me questions. That's what I like about doctors, that they ask me questions because sometimes you don't feel confident to talk about intimate things. And that doctor asks you everything. And despite the embarrassment, you answer, right?"

"Robin" #01

"[I trust my doctors] because they make me feel like I can trust them. Like, when we talk one-on-one, you ask me questions, you let me know you care about me, you're concerned about my needs, you know. So that's how they build that trust up right there.... [My PCP] she's a young girl. She's good.... I met her... this year,... and I was concerned about who I was going to be meeting. When I met her though, she's good. She's really good. And I was telling her [there were more health-related issues I wanted to address], and she got right on it. She got me a referral set up, and everything.... You know, she's good, asks the right questions. If you want to know anything, you ask her, she was on it, so I feel real comfortable with her, and I had just met her. I like it when you can meet a young person in the field, you know, and they got it going on. She's very educated, she knows what she's doing, so I really like it."

"Robin" #05

"At the community health center, they call you out of the blue. 'Do you need anything?' 'No, what do you mean?' They're always being so helpful. I like that. I never had that. They are very concerned about you. They invite you to whatever they might have going on over there."