Roles and influence of people who accompany patients on visits to the doctor.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the proportion of patients who are accompanied by another person (ie, partner, child, relative, friend) during visits to their doctors; to describe the demographic characteristics and role(s) assumed by the main accompanying person and the nature of the presenting dyads; and to describe the influence of the main accompanying person on the patient-doctor interaction.


METHODS
Prospective observational survey.


METHODS
Family practices in London, Ont, and surrounding area.


METHODS
Eight family physicians completed surveys on 100 consecutive patients attending for both regularly scheduled and emergency visits.


METHODS
Roles and influence of the main accompanying person.


RESULTS
Approximately one third (30.4%) of patients were accompanied during visits to their doctors. Children and patients older than 75 years most frequently had another person with them. Most patients (74.1%) were accompanied by one person who most often was female (72.6%) and between the ages of 21 and 40 years (53.6%). The accompanying person's role was most frequently described by doctors as an advocate for the patient (n = 235, 68.5%). If the accompanying person was a child, however, the role was most often described as a silent observer (n = 36, 68.6%). The influence of the main accompanying person on the patient-doctor encounter was usually described as positive (95.1%).


CONCLUSIONS
Physicians report that people accompanying patients usually have a positive influence on medical encounters. Future studies need to include patients' and accompanying persons' perspectives.
Thames Valley Family Practice Research Unit (TVFPRU), Centre for Studies in Family Medicine (CSFM), University of Western Ontario (UWO), London. jbbrown@julian.uwo.ca
J B
JB
Brown
P
P
Brett
M
M
Stewart
J N
JN
Marshall
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005194:Family Practice; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010344:Patient Advocacy; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D012944:Social Support