Factors Influencing Physicians’ Patient-Centered Communication Behavior in Medical Encounters
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Abstract
This study examines the factors associated with physicians’ patient-centered communication behavior in medical consultation in primary care settings in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) area of Bangladesh. A cross-sectional study was conducted among the patients (N = 850) who visited the physician in six district/Upazila hospitals. A structured and facilitator-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The independent-samples t-test, Pearson correlation and the one-way between-groups analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to find the relationship between independent variables and the outcome variable. Linear regression analyses were run to determine the factors influencing physicians’ patient-centered communication behavior in primary medical consultations. Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS version 24.0. This study explored that, patients’ age, being the Bengali, patients’ perception of the severity of the condition, pre-plan about the content of medical encounter, the ambiance of physicians’ room, and appointment length were positively associated with facilitative patient-centered communication behavior from the physicians. Besides, patients’ active participation, for example, seeking more information about their physical condition to the physician and participating in making decisions about the health problems were also resulted in effective patient-centered communication behavior. This study suggests providing physicians with adequate training for enhancing patient-centered skills and ensuring patients receive high-quality healthcare, regardless of inequality in patients’ socioeconomic status.
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References
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