title: Effects of doctor-patient communication on quality of life among breast cancer patients in southern China.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study aimed to determine effects of doctor-patient communication on the quality of life among breast cancer survivors in 16 communities in southern China.
  
  
  METHODS
  Multistage random sampling was to use to recruit 260 females from the Guangzhou Cancer Registry Database who were diagnosed with breast cancer. A questionnaire provided data on the doctor-patient communication (including the doctor's attitude, the patient's participation with the medical decision and information about the disease) and QOL (quality of life), as measured using FACT-B. Univariate analysis, non-conditional logistic regression was used to evaluate the associations between the doctor-patient communication and QOL.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Females who received good attitudes from doctors demonstrated higher FACT-B (OR=4.65, 95% CI: 1.68-12.86), social well-being (OR=5.88, 95% CI: 2.16-16.05), emotional well-being (OR=4.77, 95% CI: 1.92-11.88), and functional well-being ((OR=5.26, 95% CI: 1.90-14.52) compared to the females who encountered worse attitudes from their doctor, adjusting for age, education, marriage, employment, family income, years since diagnosis, TNM stage, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and side effects, particularly when the TNM stage was 0-II and the patients exhibited no side effects. Regardless of the length of time after diagnosis, doctors' good attitudes resulted in higher QOL scores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrated that the doctor-patient communication has a significant association with the QOL of breast cancer survivors, mainly dependent on the doctors' attitude. Effective intervention is required to develop optimal doctor-patient communication.
authors: Department of Biostatistics and Cancer Registration, Guangzhou Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Guangzhou, China E-mail : cristy_autumnh@126.com.
authors: Qin
authors: Q
authors: Zhou
authors: Ji-Chuan
authors: JC
authors: Shen
authors: Ying-Zhi
authors: YZ
authors: Liu
authors: Guo-Zhen
authors: GZ
authors: Lin
authors: Hang
authors: H
authors: Dong
authors: Ke
authors: K
authors: Li
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000523:psychology*; D002681:China; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires