Articles: health.
-
The relationship between physicians' nonverbal communication skills (their ability to communicate and to understand facial expression, body movement and voice tone cues to emotion) and their patients' satisfaction with medical care was examined in 2 studies. The research involved 71 residents in internal medicine and 462 of their ambulatory and hospitalized patients. Standardized, reliable and valid measures of nonverbal communication skills were administered to the physicians. ⋯ Across both samples, physicians who were more sensitive to body movement and posture cues to emotion (the channel suggested by nonverbal researchers as the one in which true affect can be perceived) received higher ratings from their patients on the art of care than did less sensitive physicians. In addition, physicians who were successful at expressing emotion through their nonverbal communications tended to receive higher ratings from patients on the art of care than did physicians who were less effective communicators. The implications of successfully identifying characteristics of physicians with whom patients are satisfied are discussed.
-
A comparison has been made of the recent changes in coronary heart disease mortality in Australia, the USA, and in the United Kingdom (England and Wales). Sharp declines in mortality dating from 1966 in Australia and from 1968 in the USA in both sexes contrast with a persistent increase in men in England and Wales until 1972 (after which a sight fall occurred) and a consistent slight fall in women since 1950. An investigation has been made of changes in 3 major risk factors-hypertension, cigarette smoking and diet in the 3 countries in an attempt to determine to what extent such changes might correlate with the different patterns of mortality. ⋯ In Australia and the USA increases in vegetable fat consumption have occurred since 1950 with a reduction in animal fat in Australia but not in the USA. In the United Kingdom increases in vegetable fat have not been observed while there has been some increase in animal fat. It is concluded that the different patterns of coronary heart disease mortality in the 3 countries do correlate to some extent with changes in diet and cigarette smoking.