The development of a scale to discover outpatients' perceptions of the relative desirability of different elements of doctors' communication behaviours.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to discover which aspects of doctor communication behaviours are more or less desirable to patients who are attending medical outpatients clinics.


METHODS
Two hundred and twenty patients took part in the study, which was undertaken in four phases. In phase one, patients completed a 10-item questionnaire where they indicated, by means of a five-point scale, their preferences for doctor communication behaviours. In phases two and three patients qualitatively expressed the meaning that they ascribed to terminology that is used by some researchers to define doctor communication behaviours. In the final phase of the study a 12-item questionnaire was developed by integrating the phase one questionnaire and patients' report from phases two and three. Patients indicated, by means of a five-point scale, their preferences for different communication behaviours that might be used by doctors. Patient's preferences were ranked in terms of the most to the least preferred behaviours.


RESULTS
The findings suggest that patients most prefer consultations where doctors give information spontaneously and display affective behaviours. They least preferred consultations where medical matters are discussed and where information is not forthcoming. Furthermore, the finding suggests that the use of blanket terms by researches in defining doctor communication can lead to differences in interpretation by patients.


CONCLUSIONS
The methods developed in the study appear to provide a useful tool to discover patients' desires in terms of doctor communication.


CONCLUSIONS
The rank scale developed in the study could prove useful to medical practice. It could, for example, provide a straightforward method whereby doctors could readily access researcher's recommendations about communication. Furthermore, the scale could be used in various healthcare settings in order to discover if different patient groups vary in terms of the doctor communication they desire.
Leckie
Jackie
J
FMAS, Southampton Solent University, East Park Terrance, Southampton SO40 0YN, UK. jackie.leckie@solent.ac.uk
Bull
Ray
R
Vrij
Aldert
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000523:psychology*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002755:Choice Behavior; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards; D003142:Communication; D004645:Empathy; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D010819:Physician's Role / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*