Predictors of Physicians' Attitudes Toward Sharing Information With Patients and Addressing Psychosocial Needs: A Cross-Sectional Study in Greece

Abstract

Sharing information with patients and addressing their psychosocial needs are recognized as fundamental practices of patient-centered physicians. Our study explored predictors of physicians' patient-centered attitudes and yielded a better understanding of the relative influences of job satisfaction, employment status, specialty, previous communication skills training, and sociodemographic factors. Physicians who participated in 13 identical workshops offered throughout Greece were invited to complete a battery of anonymous questionnaires (demographics, job satisfaction scale, Patient–Practitioner Orientation Scale-Sharing subscale, and Physician Belief Scale). Prediction models were used to identify predictors of patient-centered attitudes. In total, 400 fully completed questionnaires were returned (response rate 79.8%). Job satisfaction, previous training in communication skills, younger age and lower socioeconomic status were predictors of positive attitudes toward sharing information with patients. Job satisfaction, previous training in communication skills, and stronger religious beliefs were predictors of higher psychosocial orientation. Job satisfaction and training in communication skills should be ensured in the effort to develop and maintain patient-centered attitudes in physicians. Religious beliefs, age, and socioeconomic status should be taken into consideration in the effort to help physicians become aware of their biases.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Mathew Todres (Department of General Practice and Primary Care, King's College London School of Medicine at Guy's, King's College and St Thomas' Hospitals, London, UK) for proofreading our paper.

Notes

¹Participants' demographic characteristics are available upon request by the corresponding author.

²More detailed information about the linear regression models may be retrieved by the corresponding author.