Development of an instrument evaluating the impact of surgeon-patient relationship in patients on sick leave

Figures & data

Table 1. Instrument for the evaluation of patient-surgeon relationship (11 items) (Supplementary Table 1).

	RESPONSE
	STRONGLY DISAGREE	TEND TO DISAGREE	AGREE	STRONGLY AGREE
1: My surgeon easily provides me with the sick leave certificates I need.	□	□	□	□
2: My surgeon avoids using medical vocabulary so I can understand.	□	□	□	□
3: I find that information is communicated properly and consistently between different professionals who take care of my condition including my surgeon (general practitioner, physiotherapist, rheumatologist, psychologist, …).	□	□	□	□
4: I am satisfied with the availability of my surgeon (in person or by phone) when I need it.	□	□	□	□
5: My surgeon tells me when I can go back to my work; or on the contrary, he tells me that I cannot go back to work.	□	□	□	□
6: My surgeon regularly informs my doctor about my care management and about the progress of my health problem.	□	□	□	□
7: My surgeon is patient when I do not understand what he says.	□	□	□	□
8: My surgeon discusses with me the conditions of my return to work.	□	□	□	□
9: My surgeon understands the impact of my pain and my disability on my mood.	□	□	□	□
10: I’m satisfied with the time allotted to me by my surgeon during consultation.	□	□	□	□
11: My surgeon encourages me to talk about my concerns and listens to me carefully.	□	□	□	□

For publication purpose, this is an English translation of the instrument originally developed in French.

Table 2. List of instrument modifications based on the cognitive interviews.

First set of interviews
Removal	Reasons for removal
« My surgeon easily writes letters for my occupational physician »	Patients do not feel concerned
« My surgeon is able to see when I’m not emotionally okay »	Redundant with « My surgeon understands the impact of my pain and my disability on my mood »
« Overall, I totally trust my surgeon. »	Redundant with « I fully trust the decisions taken by my surgeon on the management of my disease. If my doctor tells me something, he is necessarily right. »
Modification	Items replaced by
« My surgeon informs me of administrative procedures that I have to perform »	« My surgeon informs me about administrative procedures related to my health problem »
« My surgeon informed me of an estimate of the total duration of my sick leave »	« My surgeon tells me about the date I would be able to go back to my work. Or on the contrary he tells me that I could not go back to work. »
« My surgeon is optimistic /My surgeon is confident /My surgeon believes in my progress »	« Regarding my recovery, my surgeon remains positive and optimistic. »
« My surgeon helps me with my administrative procedures (health insurances.). »	Patients consider that it is not the role of the surgeon, was revised « My surgeon speaks with me about the administrative procedures that I have to perform (health insurances).
Merger and modification	Items replaced by
« My surgeon encourages me to talk about my concerns. »	« My surgeon encourages me to talk about my concerns and listens to me carefully »
« My surgeon listens to me carefully when I want to say something »
« My surgeon describes to me the different steps of my follow-up/care management »	« Regularly we take stock together with my surgeon on the progress already made and that still to be achieved. »
« My surgeon sets my goals »
Addition
« My surgeon avoids using medical vocabulary so I can understand. »
« My surgeon is patient when I do not understand what he says »
Second set of interviews
Removal	Reasons for removal
« My surgeon is reassuring on my recovery »	Redundant items and not well understood by patients
« Regarding my recovery, my surgeon remains positive and optimistic. »
« My surgeon discusses with me the administrative procedures that I have to perform (social security, mutual, provident, etc.). or “My surgeon and /or assistant (s) discuss with me the administrative procedures that I have to perform (social security, mutual, provident, etc.) »:	As in the first set, the ten patients feel that it is not the role of the surgeon
Minor modification	Items replaced by
« Regularly we take stock together with my surgeon on the progress already made and those still to be made. »	« We take stock regularly with my surgeon on the progress already made and that still needs to be achieved. »
« My surgeon tells me when I can go back to my work; or on the contrary, he tells me that I cannot go back to work. »	« My surgeon tells me about the date I would be able to go back to work. Or on the contrary he tells me that I cannot go back to work. »

Figure 1. Literature review screening flow chart.

Figure 2. Distribution of item responses of the 17-item instrument (version C) (17 items).