Health communication
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Health communication · Jan 2014
Physicians' perspectives of managing tensions around dimensions of effective communication in the emergency department.
The purpose of this study was to explore emergency department (ED) physicians' perspectives of guidelines for effective communication. More specifically, the ways in which physicians manage the tensions among effective communication dimensions framed by relational dialectics theory are examined. This study used in-depth interviews with 17 ED physicians and 70 hours of observations to identify five dimensions of effective communication: efficiency, clarity/accuracy, relevance, comprehension, and rapport. ⋯ In almost all instances, physicians chose efficient communication at the expense of comprehension or rapport. In addition, there was a tension between patient and physician perspectives of clarity and relevance that physicians tended to resolve by emphasizing what was relevant and clear from their own perspective. Implications for managing tensions in terms of efficiency and a physician-centered approach are discussed.
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Health communication · Jan 2014
Randomized Controlled TrialUnderstanding social support burden among family caregivers.
Despite the abundance of research on social support, both as a variable in larger studies and as a central focus of examination, there is little consensus about the relationship between social support and health outcomes. Current social support measures typically account only for frequency and size of network, and a paucity of research exists that has explained social support burden, defined as the burden associated with accessing and receiving support from others. ⋯ Social support researchers should consider how the quality of communication and relationships within social networks impacts the provision and subsequent outcomes of social support in varying contexts. Findings from this study suggest that hospice social support resources should be tailored to the caregiver's support needs and include assessment on the type of support to be offered.
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Health communication · Jan 2014
Multicenter StudyRelational dialectics theory: Disentangling physician-perceived tensions of end-of-life communication.
Existing literature evidences the centrality of interpersonal communication during end-of-life care, but several barriers currently compromise its effectiveness. One of them is a common lack of communication skills among physicians in this challenging context. Several strategies have been suggested to enhance end-of-life interactions; however, a solid theoretical framework is needed for the development of effective systematic guidelines and interventions that can facilitate this goal. ⋯ The interviews probed whether and under what conditions Baxter and Montgomery's theoretical contradictions translate to physicians' end-of-life communication with their patients and the patients' family members. The results replicated and extended the original theoretical contradictions, evidencing that Relational Dialectics Theory is very applicable to end-of-life conversations. Thus, this study adds a theoretically framed, empirically grounded contribution to the current literature on the communicative challenges physicians commonly face during end-of-life interactions with their patients and their patients' family members.
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Health communication · Jan 2014
Doctors' emotion regulation and patient satisfaction: a social-functional perspective.
Emotion regulation has been identified as an important component of medical consultation but there is limited research on the topic. Two studies tested expected relationships between doctors' emotion regulation (ER) skills and patient satisfaction and quality of doctor-patient interaction, focusing in particular on the role patient perceptions' of doctors' emotion regulation skills play in these associations. Study 1 comprised 100 patients reporting on their perceptions of doctors' overall emotion regulation skills, communication quality and nonverbal immediacy, and their satisfaction with the care provided. ⋯ Doctors' suppression was also positively associated with patient satisfaction, while patients' gender moderated these effects. The two studies empirically document proposed links between doctors' emotion regulation and patient satisfaction. Notably, the results underline the role of patients' perceptions of doctors' emotion regulation skills and emotion expressions for patient outcomes and are in line with functional models of emotion in social interaction.
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Health communication · Jan 2014
Weighing women down: messages on weight loss and body shaping in editorial content in popular women's health and fitness magazines.
Exposure to idealized body images has been shown to lower women's body satisfaction. Yet some studies found the opposite, possibly because real-life media (as opposed to image-only stimuli) often embed such imagery in messages that suggest thinness is attainable. Drawing on social cognitive theory, the current content analysis investigated editorial body-shaping and weight-loss messages in popular women's health and fitness magazines. ⋯ The findings suggest that body shaping and weight loss are a major topic in these magazines, contributing to roughly one-fifth of all editorial content. Assessing standards of motivation and conduct, as well as behaviors promoted by the messages, the findings reflect overemphasis on appearance over health and on exercise-related behaviors over caloric reduction behaviors and the combination of both behaviors. These accentuations are at odds with public health recommendations.