Helping health professionals to cope with new demands arising from the significant growth in Spain’s immigrant population was the aim of the symposium organized by the Foundation under the title Informed consent and cultural diversity.

Two leading experts gave us their views: Anne Davis, emeritus professor at the University of California in San Francisco and the Nagano College of Nursing in Japan, and Eusébio Macete, researcher at the Health Investigation Centre of Manhiça, in Mozambique.

Informed consent is a principle which affects two aspects of medicine: the doctor–patient relationship prior to the taking of decisions, and individuals’ participation in research. Professor Davis has extensive experience of being involved in processes in which a patient has to be informed in order to take a decision. Macete is a well-known researcher and, as such, needs the informed consent of patients who agree to participate in his trials. Two health professionals and two points of view on a single issue.