Effects of Physicians’ Information Giving on Patient Outcomes: a Systematic Review

Abstract

Background Providing diagnostic and treatment information to patients is a core clinical skill, but evidence for the effectiveness of different information-giving strategies is inconsistent. This systematic review aimed to investigate the reported effects of empirically tested communication strategies for providing information on patient-related outcomes: information recall and (health-related) behaviors. Methods The databases MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO (Ovid), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and relevant bibliographies were systematically searched from the inception to April 24, 2020, without restrictions, for articles testing information-giving strategies for physicians (PROSPERO ID: CRD42019115791). Pairs of independent reviewers identified randomized controlled studies with a low risk of selection bias as from the Cochrane risk of bias 2 tool. Main outcomes were grouped into patient information recall and behavioral outcomes (e.g., alcohol consumption, weight loss, participation in screening). Due to high heterogeneity in the data on effects of interventions, these outcomes were descriptively reported, together with studies’, interventions’, and information-giving strategies’ characteristics. PRISMA guidelines were followed. Results Seventeen of 9423 articles were included. Eight studies, reporting 10 interventions, assessed patient information recall: mostly conducted in experimental settings and testing a single information-giving strategy. Four of the ten interventions reported significant increase in recall. Nine studies assessed behavioral outcomes, mostly in real-life clinical settings and testing multiple information-giving strategies simultaneously. The heterogeneity in this group of studies was high. Eight of the nine interventions reported a significant positive effect on objectively and subjectively measured patients’ behavioral outcomes. Discussion Using specific framing strategies for achieving specific communication goals when providing information to patients appears to have positive effects on information recall and patient health–related behaviors. The heterogeneity observed in this group of studies testifies the need for a more consistent methodological and conceptual agenda when testing medical information-giving strategies. Trial Registration PROSPERO registration number: CRD42019115791

Health Communication Research Informs Inflammatory Bowel Disease Practice and Research: A Narrative Review

“…Tracking the effect of communication styles all the way to clinical outcomes is very difficult. This is because communication is more likely to affect health in an indirect way through its influence on intervening variables 21–24 such as shared understanding, 25 patient recall, 26 , 27 patient health-related behavior, 27 , 28 and patient adherence 29–33 ( Figure 1 ).…”

Perceived social support among percutaneous coronary intervention patients over a long‐term follow‐up period

“…According to Lie et al (2022), patients commonly forget or misunderstand 40%-80% of the information that they receive. Moreover, they may also prioritize key items of information, that is, those that enable and motivate certain behaviours (Lie et al, 2022). As such, it may be that the nurses provided counselling in the context of treatment interventions, and the patient did not consider this to be counselling, but rather conversation on a general level.…”

“…According to Lie et al. (2022), patients commonly forget or misunderstand 40%–80% of the information that they receive. Moreover, they may also prioritize key items of information, that is, those that enable and motivate certain behaviours (Lie et al., 2022).…”

“…Instead, physicians often meet patients face‐to‐face and focus on topics that are clearly related to the patient's medical situation. Thus, it is important to pay attention to the effectiveness of various forms of information provision (Kim, Kim, et al., 2019; Kim, Lim, et al., 2019; Lie et al., 2022; Nicolai et al., 2018).…”

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“…Effective patient-clinician communication is associated with improved patient comprehension, satisfaction, and health outcomes. [1][2][3][4][5][6] However, building strong patient-clinician rapport in the hospital setting may be challenging. Patients typically interact with many clinicians.…”