Expectations and Level of Satisfaction of Patients and Their Physicians: Concordance and Discrepancies

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• 作者：Gil Goldzweig ; Ph.D.^a ; ^{giligold@mta.ac.il" class="auth_mail" title="E-mail the corresponding author} ; Amitai Abramovitch ; Ph.D.^b ; Baruch Brenner ; M.D.^c ; Shlomit Perry ; Ph.D.^c ; Tamar Peretz ; M.D.^d ; Lea Baider ; Ph.D.^e
• 刊名：Psychosomatics
• 出版年：2015
• 出版时间：September-October 2015
• 年：2015
• 卷：56
• 期：5
• 页码：521-529
• 全文大小：202 K

文摘

Identifying discrepancies between patients壮 expectations for support provided by their physicians, and physicians壮 appraisal of the support they provide to their patients, is a key factor in constructing effective doctor-patient communication.

Objective

The current study proposes and explores a paradigm for assessing possible gaps and overlaps between perceptions of patients with cancer and physicians about the “actual” and the “ideal” (desired) emotional and cognitive support oncologists provide to patients.

Methods

Participants included 1027 patients with cancer and 47 senior oncologists. Patients壮 and physicians壮 levels of expectations and satisfaction with the emotional and cognitive support offered by physicians were assessed using a quantitative measure of discrepancy between the actual and the ideal situation. The measure was developed for this study and tested on a random sample of 200 patients and 17 oncologists.

Results

The results indicated consistency between physicians壮 and patients壮 perceptions of the needs and support that the patients received. Nevertheless, oncologists did not feel highly trusted by their patients, oncologists desired less involvement of patients in the treatment plan than the patients expected. Oncologists thought that they actually provided the desired levels of explanation to patients壮 families, whereas patients thought their families got less explanations than expected.

Conclusion

Actual and ideal levels of communication should be described from the points of view of both physicians and patients to better understand the complex picture of patient satisfaction. Oncologists should consider patients壮 expectations for support vs their own expectations to effectively address patients壮 needs.