Cancer screening adherence: does physician-patient communication matter?

The objective of this study was to examine the separate contributions of patients and physicians to their communication regarding cancer screening.

The authors conducted a cross-sectional analysis of survey data collected from 63 community-based primary care physicians and 904 of their female patients in Los Angeles.

Patients who perceived their physicians to be enthusiastic (at any level) in their discussions of mammography or fecal occult blood tests (FOBT) were significantly more likely to report a recent test than patients who reported no discussions.

Physician discussions of cancer screening are important and effective even when, as in the case of mammography, screening rates are already high, or, as in the case of FOBT, rates have tended to remain low. The value of communication about screening should be taught and promoted to primary care physicians who serve as gatekeepers to screening.

Those who train physicians in communication skills should take into account our finding that the communication style of physicians (e.g., enthusiasm for screening) was the only patient or physician variable that both influenced screening adherence and that could be taught.