title: Talking about depression: an analogue study of physician gender and communication style on patient disclosures.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To disentangle the effects of physician gender and patient-centered communication style on patients' oral engagement in depression care.
  
  
  METHODS
  Physician gender, physician race and communication style (high patient-centered (HPC) and low patient-centered (LPC)) were manipulated and presented as videotaped actors within a computer simulated medical visit to assess effects on analogue patient (AP) verbal responsiveness and care ratings. 307 APs (56% female; 70% African American) were randomly assigned to conditions and instructed to verbally respond to depression-related questions and indicate willingness to continue care. Disclosures were coded using Roter Interaction Analysis System (RIAS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Both male and female APs talked more overall and conveyed more psychosocial and emotional talk to HPC gender discordant doctors (all p<.05). APs were more willing to continue treatment with gender-discordant HPC physicians (p<.05). No effects were evident in the LPC condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings highlight a role for physician gender when considering active patient engagement in patient-centered depression care. This pattern suggests that there may be largely under-appreciated and consequential effects associated with patient expectations in regard to physician gender that these differ by patient gender.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  High patient-centeredness increases active patient engagement in depression care especially in gender discordant dyads.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA. Electronic address: droter@jhsph.edu.
authors.forename: Debra L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Roter
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA.
authors.forename: Lori H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Erby
authors.affiliation: University of Warwick, UK.
authors.forename: Ann
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Adams
authors.affiliation: Aston University, UK.
authors.forename: Christopher D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Buckingham
authors.affiliation: University of Warwick, UK.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vail
authors.affiliation: University of Warwick, UK.
authors.forename: Alba
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Realpe
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, USA.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.affiliation: Northeastern University, USA.
authors.forename: Judith A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Hall
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003142:Communication; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D012650:Self Disclosure; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014743:Videotape Recording; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Analogue patients; Depression; Gender concordance; Patient-centeredness; Patient–physician communication; RIAS