Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Related Concept Videos

Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch

Techniques of therapeutic communication I: Active Listening, Sharing Observations, Validation, and Using Touch

The history of therapeutic communication can be traced back to Florence Nightingale, who emphasized the importance of developing trusting relationships with patients. She taught that the presence of nurses with patients results in therapeutic healing.
Therapeutic communication is not the same as social interaction. Social interaction has no goal or purpose and consists of casual information sharing, whereas therapeutic communication has a plan or purpose for the conversation. Therapeutic...

Nursing Ethical Principles II

Nursing Ethical Principles II

Ethical principles are essential in guiding nurses to fulfill their responsibilities, focusing on the quality of nursing care and decision-making. These principles, including autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and fidelity, shape the ethical framework within healthcare settings.
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's cancer...

Ethical Dilemmas II

Ethical Dilemmas II

Resolving an ethical dilemma in healthcare involves a systematic approach that considers every aspect of the issue, respecting both the patient's needs and values and the healthcare professional's ethical obligations. Here are potential steps to resolve an ethical dilemma:

Ethics and Bioethics

Ethics and Bioethics

Ethics is a philosophical study of moral actions. Ethics attempts to determine what is valuable for individuals and society. It examines the rational justification of moral judgments and analyzes what is morally just, fair, and right. Bioethics is a sub-discipline of applied ethics that analyzes the philosophical, social, and legal issues in life sciences and medicine. Ethical theories serve as a foundation for decision-making and represent the viewpoints from which people seek direction. They...

Techniques of Therapeutic Communication II: Focusing, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

Techniques of Therapeutic Communication II: Focusing, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

Focusing involves centering a conversation on a message's critical elements or concepts. Focusing is valuable if the talk is vague or patients begin to repeat themselves. Sometimes, when patients are asked about their symptoms, they may go off-topic and try to tell their entire life story. Respectfully, the nurse should bring the conversation back into focus.
This therapeutic technique can also be used when a patient brings up pertinent information during a health-related conversation. The...

Ethical Issues

Ethical Issues

Nurses are essential in patient care, upholding the ethical principles of their profession and effectively navigating ethical dilemmas. Neglecting ethical issues can lead to inadequate patient care, compromised therapeutic relationships, and moral distress among healthcare workers.
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

Medical Maximizing Orientation and the Desire for Low-Value Screening: An Examination of Mediating Mechanisms.

Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making·2024

See all related articles

Search research articles

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Treatment Model for Young Patients with Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction and Resultant Infertility

Treatment Model for Young Patients with Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction and Resultant Infertility

Published on: May 30, 2025

Physicians' Empathic and Uncertainty-Reframing Communication in Active Surveillance: Boosting Patient Acceptance and

¹Institute of Health Policy and Management, Seoul National University Medical Research Center, Seoul, South Korea.

Behavioral Medicine (Washington, D.C.)

|July 2, 2026

Summary

Physician communication, specifically empathy, significantly boosts acceptance of active surveillance (AS) for low-risk cancers. This approach also reduces patient intentions for litigation and negative word-of-mouth, improving patient-physician relationships.

Keywords:

active surveillance communication empathy medical litigation negative word of mouth treatment decision

More Related Videos

A New Technique for Treating Low-risk Prostate Cancer—Super Active Surveillance

A New Technique for Treating Low-risk Prostate Cancer—Super Active Surveillance

Published on: November 7, 2025

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jul 4, 2026

Treatment Model for Young Patients with Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction and Resultant Infertility

Treatment Model for Young Patients with Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction and Resultant Infertility

Published on: May 30, 2025

A New Technique for Treating Low-risk Prostate Cancer—Super Active Surveillance

A New Technique for Treating Low-risk Prostate Cancer—Super Active Surveillance

Published on: November 7, 2025

Area of Science:

Medical Communication
Oncology Patient Management
Health Psychology

Background:

Active surveillance (AS) is underutilized for low-risk cancers due to patient psychological distress and physician concerns.
Patient uncertainty and physician risk aversion are key barriers to AS adoption.
Effective communication strategies are needed to overcome these barriers.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate how empathic and uncertainty-reframing communication by physicians influences patient acceptance of active surveillance (AS).
To assess the impact of communication strategies on reducing patients' intentions for medical litigation and negative word-of-mouth (N-WOM).
To explore the mediating roles of patient anxiety, trust, and physician credibility in the communication-outcome relationship.

Main Methods:

An online experimental study with 968 South Korean adults using a 2x2x2 factorial design.
Participants were randomly assigned to vignettes manipulating empathic communication (low/high), uncertainty-reframing (absent/present), and hospital setting.
Outcomes measured included AS acceptance, litigation intention, and N-WOM intention.

Main Results:

High empathic communication significantly increased AS acceptance and reduced litigation and N-WOM intentions.
Reduced anxiety and increased trust mediated the effect on AS acceptance.
Enhanced physician credibility mediated the effect on litigation intention; reduced anxiety mediated the effect on N-WOM intention.
Uncertainty-reframing showed benefits primarily when empathic communication was low, suggesting a compensatory effect.

Conclusions:

Physician empathic communication is crucial for increasing active surveillance acceptance and mitigating patient concerns.
Targeted communication strategies can reduce barriers for both patients and physicians, bridging the gap between evidence and practice.
The findings highlight the power of communication in optimizing cancer management and patient outcomes across different healthcare settings.