It's More than Warm Communication: A Pre-Registered Analysis of Patient's Compassion Priorities

Compassion is central to healthcare and linked to better outcomes for patients and providers. Past studies have employed small, clinically-specific samples and qualitative designs, producing a characterisation of compassion emphasising communicative and affective elements. What compassion "looks like" in primary care remains unclear.

Quantify how doctor behaviours are seen as signalling compassion to primary care patients, consider questions of structure and the possibility that different behaviours might be more or less central to the experience of provider compassion in different groups.

A pre-registered, anonymous, online, survey design recruited 513 patients from the general population. Participants provided demographic and health data before rating behaviours in terms of their importance to compassion.

Structural analyses revealed three elements to compassionate behaviour: 'Attentively Diagnoses, Treats, and Refers', 'Positive and Reassuring Communication', and 'Attends to Concerns and Preferences'. Exploratory analyses suggested Māori and male patients saw affective and health deliverables as less important, older and/or preoccupied patients prioritised reassuring communication, and Asian and male patients saw inclusive care and tailored treatment as more important.

Consistent with theory, these data suggest that compassion is more than warm or supportive communication but it also involves concrete actions to alleviate suffering; different patient groups may vary in their preferences.