Patients' Perception Regarding the Communicative Capabilities of Portuguese Family Doctors: A Cross-Sectional Study

TL;DR

This study explores how patients in Portugal perceive their family doctors' communication skills, finding that communication is better in rural areas and with female doctors.

Contribution

The study provides new insights into regional and gender-based differences in patient perceptions of doctor-patient communication in Portugal.

Findings

Patients in rural areas perceive better communication than those in urban areas.

Female physicians are perceived to have better communication skills than male physicians.

Communication challenges are more common in interactions between female patients and male doctors.

Abstract

Introduction

Effective communication is the cornerstone of the doctor-patient relationship, playing a fundamental role in fostering a collaborative partnership between patients and their family physicians. A variety of factors, including gender and socioeconomic status, have been identified as influencing the quality of communication within this dyadic interaction. Our study aimed to assess how patients perceive their doctors' communicative behaviors across different regions of the country, considering multiple dimensions of doctor-patient communication, as well as the patients’ personal and sociodemographic characteristics.

Materials and methods

This cross-sectional observational study involved the administration of the Doctor Communication Behavior Questionnaire (DCBQ-QCCM) to a representative sample of 439 patients, followed by statistical analysis using the Mann-Whitney test and the Kruskal-Wallis test to detect potential differences in perceptions based on various sociodemographic and regional variables.

Results

The DCBQ-QCCM demonstrated excellent internal consistency, with a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.964. The majority of participants agreed with the questionnaire statements. Items with the lowest levels of agreement included “Does your doctor ask for your opinion during consultations?” and “Does your doctor ask you to explain the proposed treatment in your own words?”. The domain with the highest level of agreement was “comprehension” (89.8%), followed by “verbal communication” (81.8%), “control” (80%), and “encouragement” (78.6%). Statistically significant differences were found in the perceptions of communication based on regional differences (rural versus urban - p = 0.015), type of physician (family doctor versus other physician - p = 0.027), and gender within the doctor-patient dyad (p = 0.004).

Discussion

Our findings suggest that communication is perceived to be better in rural areas compared to urban settings. Moreover, female physicians were perceived to demonstrate superior communication skills compared to their male counterparts. Notably, the greatest communication challenges appear to arise in interactions between female patients and male doctors.

Conclusion

Overall, patients expressed a positive perception of the communication skills of their family doctors. However, it is essential to adopt an active approach that emphasizes “giving a voice to the patient” to further enhance communication in the clinical setting.