• Erik Farin and W Baumann.
• Qualitätsmanagement und Sozialmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Freiburg, Freiburg.
• Gesundheitswesen. 2014 Nov 1;76(11):707-14.

PurposeAfter testing the psychometric properties of a new questionnaire that measures patient preferences for patient-physician communication (KOPRA questionnaire), the communication preferences of cancer patients were described. In order to do this, the preferences were differentiated according to sociodemographic subgroups and a comparison was made to the preferences of patients with chronic back pain and chronic ischaemic heart disease.MethodsN=1,635 patients from 31 medical oncology practices were surveyed. For the KOPRA questionnaire, reliability, unidimensionality, and fit to the Rasch model were tested. Hierarchical models were used to conduct subgroup analyses and comparisons with other diseases.ResultsThe psychometric properties of the KOPRA are satisfactory to good. For patients, the 4 communication domains (patient participation and patient orientation, effective and open communication, emotionally supportive communication, communication about personal circumstances) measured by the KOPRA questionnaire are equally important. Women generally have higher expectations of the physician's communicative behaviour. Affective communication is considerably more important for cancer patients than for back pain or cardiac patients.ConclusionThe KOPRA questionnaire is well suited for examining the communication preferences of cancer patients. In general, physician behaviour associated with high scores in all 4 KOPRA dimensions is optimal. Especially in cases where the 4 communication aspects conflict with each other, the physician's communication style should be individualised.© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

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