Department of Medical Psychology, Academic Medical Center/University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Department of Medical Psychology, Academic Medical Center/University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Patient Educ Couns. 2017 Jul;100(7):1338-1344. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2017.02.012. Epub 2017 Feb 13.
Cancer patients need information provision to cope with their disease. However, only 20-60% of information provided during consultations is remembered. This study aimed to investigate whether oncologists' use of trust-conveying communication, characterized by communicating competence, honesty and caring, enhances patients' memory. Moreover, we aimed to investigate if this hypothetical relationship is mediated by a reduction in psychophysiological arousal during the consultation.
An experimental design was used, allowing for conclusion about causality. Two versions of a scripted video-taped consultation were used in which the oncologist adopted either a standard or a trust-conveying communication style. 97 cancer-naive individuals acted as analogue patients and were randomly assigned to watch one of the consultations.
Free recall, assessed 24-28h after viewing, was higher (p=0.039) in the trust-conveying condition (65.3% versus 59.5%). Recognition did not differ (p=0.502). Psychophysiological assessment during watching showed a smaller heart rate response in the trust-conveying condition (p=0.037). No mediation effect nor an effect on electrodermal activity was found.
These results suggest that oncologists' use of trust-conveying communication could increase patients' free recall of information and diminish their cardiovascular response.
The underlying mechanisms by which oncologists' communication influences information recall warrants further investigation.
癌症患者需要获取信息以应对疾病。然而，在咨询过程中提供的信息只有 20-60%能被记住。本研究旨在调查肿瘤医生是否会通过信任沟通来增强患者的记忆，这种沟通方式的特点是表现出专业性、诚实和关怀。此外，我们还旨在研究这种假设关系是否通过降低咨询期间的心理生理唤醒来实现。
采用实验设计，可以得出因果关系的结论。使用了两种脚本录制的视频咨询版本，其中医生采用了标准或信任沟通风格。97 名癌症初诊个体作为模拟患者，并随机分配观看其中一种咨询。
观看后 24-28 小时进行的自由回忆测试中，信任沟通条件下的回忆率更高（p=0.039）（65.3% 对 59.5%）。识别率没有差异（p=0.502）。观看过程中的心理生理评估显示，信任沟通条件下的心率反应较小（p=0.037）。未发现中介效应或皮肤电活动的影响。
这些结果表明，肿瘤医生使用信任沟通可能会增加患者对信息的自由回忆，并降低他们的心血管反应。
需要进一步研究肿瘤医生的沟通方式如何影响信息回忆的潜在机制。
