Explanatory Model

Dr. Arthur Kleinman, Dr. Leon Eisenberg, and Dr. Byron Good proposed the explanatory model to aid practitioners in practicing culturally sensitive medicine. The eight questions in the model give a practitioner the opportunity to discover how a patient views his or her health issue.

The Eight Questions:¹⁵

[1] What do you think has caused your problem?

[2] Why do you think it started when it did?

[3] What do you think your sickness does to you? How does it work?

[4] How severe is your sickness? Will it have a short or long course?

[5] What kind of treatment do you think you should receive?

[6] What are the most important results you hope to receive from this treatment?

[7] What are the chief problems your sickness has caused for you?

[8] What do you fear most about your sickness?