Effect of physician-patient communication on patient satisfaction, psychological adjustment, and adherence of oncology patients: A meta-analysis of the published research

Effective physician-patient communication is important in the treatment and management of patients with a cancer diagnosis. Communication may influence psychoogcial and treatment-related outcomes, such as treatment and cancer-screening adherence, psychological states (i.e. anxiety and/or depression), adjustment to illness, and satisfaction with the physician and medical care. The magnitude of the impact of the physician-patient relationship (i.e. communication), patient care, and health outcomes, however, still needs to be clarified.;The present meta-analysis focused on data pertaining to the nature of communication within the physician-patient relationship as it related to promoting such social and clinical outcomes as satisfaction, psychological adjustment and adherence. There were 30 studies published in refereed journals with a total sample of 7,801 patients included in the present study. There were 20 articles coded for patient satisfaction (54.1%), 9 articles for psychological adjustment (24.3%), and 8 articles for adherence (21.6%). These results emphasize the importance of physician-patient communication for positive health outcomes of oncology patients and those at risk for cancer. (Abstract shortened by UMI.).