Curious on curiosity - a qualitative study on curiosity in healthcare communication

Curiosity is increasingly recognized as a core element of person-centered healthcare communication, yet empirical evidence about how curiosity is recognized, valued, and constrained in clinical encounters remains limited. This study aimed to explore how curiosity manifests in healthcare communication and to identify its perceived value and barriers from the perspectives of patients, relatives, healthcare professionals, and communication experts.

A qualitative participatory design was used, comprising three sequential workshops: a World Café workshop with patients and relatives, a participatory theater workshop involving clinicians, patients, and researchers, and an international expert workshop with healthcare communication specialists. Data included written reflections, observational field notes, and video recordings. Analysis followed a reflective sense-making approach, integrating insights across workshop phases.

Curiosity was identified as both a professional quality and a communicative skill, expressed through attentive listening, acknowledgment, openness, responsiveness, and the use of exploratory questions. Participants associated curiosity with enhanced trust, deeper dialogue, and more individualized care. Meaningful curiosity, perceived as relevant to patients' lives and treatment decisions, was distinguished from curiosity experienced as intrusive. Barriers included time pressure, emotional stress, preconceived notions, cognitive overload, and clinician burnout.

Curiosity emerged as both a professional quality and a communicative skill, expressed through attentive listening, acknowledgment, nonverbal presence, and explorative questioning. The findings highlight a reciprocal relationship between curiosity and trust, supporting deeper dialogue, patient empowerment, and partnership in care. Curiosity also creates reflective pauses that enhance understanding and meaning in clinical encounters.

Curiosity is a critical yet underdeveloped component of person-centered healthcare communication. Explicitly integrating curiosity into communication education and training may strengthen patient engagement, support shared decision-making, and enhance the quality of clinical encounters. Organizational efforts to address time pressure, workload, and clinician well-being are essential to fostering curiosity in everyday practice.