Do Physicians’ Attitudes towards Patient-Centered Communication Promote Physicians’ Intention and Behavior of Involving Patients in Medical Decisions?

Dan Wang, Chenxi Liu and Xinping Zhang
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Dan Wang: School of Medical Management and Health Management, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
Chenxi Liu: School of Medical Management and Health Management, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China
Xinping Zhang: School of Medical Management and Health Management, Tongji Medical College of Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 17, 1-11

Abstract: Promoting patient-centered communication among physicians is one core strategy for improving physician–patient relationships and patient outcomes. Our study aims to understand the physicians’ attitudes towards patient-centered communication and its effects on physicians’ intention and behavior of involving patients in medical decisions in primary care in China. One cross-sectional study was conducted in primary facilities in Hubei province, China, from December 2019 to January 2020, where physicians’ attitudes towards patient-centered communication were measured by the Chinese-revised patient–practitioner orientation scale. Multilevel ordinal logistic regression was conducted for estimating the effects of physicians’ attitudes on their intention and behavior of patient involvement in medical decisions. Six hundred and seventeen physicians were investigated for the main study. Physicians had a medium score of patient-centered communication (3.78, SD = 0.56), with relatively high caring subscale score (4.59, SD = 0.64), and low sharing subscale score (3.09, SD = 0.75). After controlling physicians’ covariates, physicians’ attitudes towards patient-centered communication was significantly associated with a higher intention of involving patients in medical decisions (OR > 1, p = 0.020). Physicians’ positive attitudes towards patient-centered communication affected their intention of involving patients in medical decisions, which implies the importance of taking the physicians’ attitudes into account for the accomplishment of patient involvement processes.

Keywords: patient-centered communication; patient involvement; primary care; Chinese revised-patient-practitioner orientation scale (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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