Doctor-couple communication during assisted reproductive technology visits

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Medicine
• Clinical Communication Studies
• Health Psychology

Background:

• Effective communication in Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) is vital for patient decision-making and retention.
• Limited research exists on the specific communication content during doctor-couple interactions in ART settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the communication content characteristics between physicians and couples during ART consultations.
• To analyze the focus of information exchange and communication styles in ART visits.

Main Methods:

• An observational study videotaped 85 ART visits across eight Italian clinics.
• The Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS) was used to code communication content, focusing on verbal dominance and patient-centeredness.
• Data included 28 clinicians and 160 patients (75 couples).

Main Results:

• Physicians predominantly focused on delivering biomedical information.
• Couples' communication included both biomedical information and positive talk.
• Higher patient-centeredness scores were observed when physicians were female or for heterologous fertilization treatments.
• Females contributed more to patient talk, and males showed more socioemotional communication.

Conclusions:

• ART physicians often employ an informative, disease-oriented communication style.
• The triadic nature of ART consultations (physician, male patient, female patient) requires awareness of distinct communication patterns and perspectives.
• Findings can inform training programs for ART professionals to enhance communication strategies.