title: Effects of patient-centered communication on anxiety, negative affect, and trust in the physician in delivering a cancer diagnosis: A randomized, experimental study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  When bad news about a cancer diagnosis is being delivered, patient-centered communication (PCC) has been considered important for patients' adjustment and well-being. However, few studies have explored how interpersonal skills might help cancer patients cope with anxiety and distress during bad-news encounters.
  
  
  METHODS
  A prospective, experimental design was used to investigate the impact of the physician communication style during a bad-news encounter. Ninety-eight cancer patients and 92 unaffected subjects of both sexes were randomly assigned to view a video of a clinician delivering a first cancer diagnosis with either an enhanced patient-centered communication (E-PCC) style or a low patient-centered communication (L-PCC) style. Participants rated state anxiety and negative affect before and immediately after the video exposure, whereas trust in the physician was rated after the video exposure only. Main and interaction effects were analyzed with generalized linear models.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Viewing the disclosure of a cancer diagnosis resulted in a substantial increase in state anxiety and negative affect among all participants. This emotional response was moderated by the physician's communication style: Participants viewing an oncologist displaying an E-PCC style were significantly less anxious than those watching an oncologist displaying an L-PCC style. They also reported significantly higher trust in the physician.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Under a threatening, anxiety-provoking disclosure of bad news, a short sequence of empathic PCC influences subjects' psychological state, insofar that they report feeling less anxious and more trustful of the oncologist. Video exposure appears to be a valuable method for investigating the impact of a physician's communication style during critical encounters. Cancer 2017;123:3167-75. © 2017 American Cancer Society.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9244-0983
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zwingmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Behavioral Science, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.|Department of Faculty and Academic Development, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas.
authors.forename: Walter F
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Baile
authors.affiliation: Hematology, Oncology, and Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Johann W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Schmier
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Oncology, Inselspital, Bern University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jürg
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bernhard
authors.affiliation: Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, Heidelberg University Hospital, Heidelberg, Germany.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keller
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect; D001007:Anxiety; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms; D018802:Patient-Centered Care; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D035502:Trust; D014342:Truth Disclosure; D014741:Video Recording; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: anxiety; cancer diagnosis; empathy; patient-centered communication; randomized controlled trial (RCT)