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Do physicians care about patients with dysphagia? A study on confirming communication
B Gustafsson1, L Tibbling, T Theorell
1National Institute for Psychosocial Factors and Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
Family Practice
|June 1, 1992
Summary
Patients experiencing physician confirmation during their first consultation for oesophageal dysphagia reported better outcomes. Feeling confirmed positively impacts perceived help and symptom improvement, suggesting patient attributes play a role.
Area of Science:
- Medical Science
- Psychology
Background:
- Longstanding oesophageal dysphagia significantly impacts patients' quality of life.
- Patient-physician communication is crucial, especially during initial consultations for chronic conditions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if patients with oesophageal dysphagia feel confirmed (met with interest, respect, understanding, knowledge) during their first physician consultation.
- To identify distinguishing attributes of non-confirmed patients.
- To determine if feeling confirmed affects the patient's impression of receiving help and experiencing symptom improvement.
Main Methods:
- A mixed-methods study involving interviews and questionnaires with 39 patients suffering from longstanding oesophageal dysphagia.
- Patients were categorized into 'confirmed' and 'non-confirmed' groups based on their first physician consultation experience.
- Statistical analysis was used to compare patient attributes and outcomes between the two groups.
Main Results:
- Twenty-five out of 39 patients felt non-confirmed.
- Non-confirmed patients exhibited greater fear of cancer and stronger indirect aggression.
- Confirmed patients were more likely to report receiving a correct oesophageal diagnosis, feeling adequately helped, and experiencing improvement in swallowing difficulties.
Conclusions:
- Patient attributes may subtly influence the likelihood of feeling confirmed by a physician.
- Physician confirmation is significantly associated with a patient's perception of receiving adequate help and experiencing symptom improvement in oesophageal dysphagia.