Communication Information must be provided in a caring and respectful way. Because the Navajo have a much more relaxed view of time than most Western care providers, it is important to remember not to rush. Maintaining a positive focus, and referring to a third person can help enhance acceptance of information. It is also helpful to review the patient’s story before moving to recommendations. “When I speak with Navajo people about conditions, illnesses, outcomes, I don’t speak to them directly. I do it in the third person. For example: ‘You know some people have this condition, and this may happen to them’ . . . That’s how I teach and talk to people ‘Some people have these troubles.’ It’s more acceptable; you’re not seen as wishing things on them” (p. 94). “You just tie in pretty much everything that you know about the illness that helped you make the diagnosis. You review all these things before you tell them, ‘This is probably what it is.’ I think they accept that a lot more than saying right off the bat, ‘I think you have cancer’” (p. 94).

Follow-Through Once the initial communication has occurred, it is important to continue to interact, and to communicate hope. One patient indicated “I get the idea [from the hospital] that there’s nothing more to be done now. But I still have hope. I still feel that there is something that needs to be done. So I’m going to another hospital with my daughter” (p. 94). And a summary from a traditional healer encapsulates the kind of care that is most likely to help Navajo individuals. “So this is how I help people. Even though they are at the end of their days, on the verge of leaving mother earth, there are ways to help that individual, and that’s my job, my duty” (p. 95). (p. 94).