Global Center for Medical Engineering and Informatics, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan.
Faculty of Medicine, Saint Joseph University, Beirut, Lebanon.
Int J Med Inform. 2022 Sep;165:104825. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2022.104825. Epub 2022 Jul 3.
Eye contact is generally considered a beneficial non-verbal behavior in patient-physician communication. Physicians are advised to simulate eye contact during video consultations by gazing at the camera, although we lack evidence that doing so is beneficial. This work is a cross-cultural experiment that aims to answer: "Are physicians who gaze at the camera during video consultations perceived as making eye contact, and are their communication skills rated higher?"
43 Japanese and 61 Lebanese participants watched videos of physicians providing the same video consultations while gazing at the camera and screen. After watching each video, they rated the physicians' communication skills using six items from the GCRS and the MAAS-G scales. They also picked and justified their preferred physician gaze direction.
When physicians gazed at the camera, they were perceived as making more eye contact and received higher communication and interpersonal skills ratings, both in Japan and Lebanon. The effect of gazing at the camera was consistently positive but varied by country and consultation content. In Japan, simulating eye contact improved the ratings of the attentive and caring physician, whereas in Lebanon, it improved the ratings of the tired and inattentive physician. When asked to choose their preferred gaze direction, 88.4% of Japanese and 90.2% of Lebanese participants chose camera gaze over screen gaze due to its positive effect on patient feelings and physician perception. Participants who chose screen gaze noted the unnaturalness of gazing at the camera and its potential negative impact on care quality.
Physicians providing video consultations can simulate eye contact by gazing at the camera. Doing so improves their communication and interpersonal skills ratings and could potentially enhance their communication with their patients. Mainstream video conferencing platforms could implement gaze correction methods to simulate eye contact without affecting the physicians' experience and capacity to provide quality care.
眼神交流通常被认为是医患沟通中有益的非言语行为。医生在视频咨询中被建议通过凝视摄像头来模拟眼神交流，尽管我们缺乏这样做有益的证据。这项工作是一项跨文化实验，旨在回答：“在视频咨询中凝视摄像头的医生是否被视为进行眼神交流，他们的沟通技巧是否被评为更高？”
43 名日本人和 61 名黎巴嫩人观看了医生在观看摄像头和屏幕时提供相同视频咨询的视频。观看每个视频后，他们使用 GCRS 和 MAAS-G 量表的六个项目对医生的沟通技巧进行评分。他们还选择并证明了自己喜欢的医生注视方向。
当医生凝视摄像头时，他们被认为进行了更多的眼神交流，并在日本和黎巴嫩获得了更高的沟通和人际交往技巧评分。凝视摄像头的效果始终是积极的，但因国家和咨询内容而异。在日本，模拟眼神交流提高了关注和关心的医生的评分，而在黎巴嫩，它提高了疲倦和不专心的医生的评分。当被要求选择他们喜欢的注视方向时，88.4%的日本人和 90.2%的黎巴嫩人选择了摄像头注视，因为它对患者的感受和医生的感知有积极的影响。选择屏幕注视的参与者指出，凝视摄像头不自然，可能对护理质量产生负面影响。
提供视频咨询的医生可以通过凝视摄像头来模拟眼神交流。这样做可以提高他们的沟通和人际交往技巧评分，并有可能增强他们与患者的沟通。主流视频会议平台可以实施注视校正方法来模拟眼神交流，而不会影响医生的体验和提供高质量护理的能力。
