Table 1. Overview of studies targeting patients’ experiences in communicating with a primary care physician (n = 57): authors, year and country of publication, aim, sample, method, and attention to cultural aspects.
| Author (Year) | Country | Aim | Sample | Method & Analyses | Culture |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bowes & Domokos (1995) [32] | UK a | Explore South Asian women's experiences and use of health services | 20 Pakistani Muslim women (17 born abroad) | UII b Thematic | √ c |
| Punamaki & Kokko (1995) [33] | Finland | Describe and analyze patients' consultation experiences | 127 patients or parents of patients (60F, 67M) (ENR d ) | SSI e Thematic | |
| Johansson, Hamberg, Lindgren & Westman (1996) [34] | Sweden | Explore female patients’ experiences in consultation | 20 Swedish female with musculoskeletal disorders | SSI Grounded Theory | |
| Thom, Campbell & Alto (1997) [35] | USA f | Identify physician behaviours that foster trust | 29 patients (1 FG g Hispanics, 1FG African Americans, 2 FG not reported but inferred as White Americans) (20F, 9M) | 4 FGs Grounded Theory | √ |
| Rodriguez, Bauer, Flores-Ortiz, Szkupinzki-Quiroga (1998) [36] | USA | Identify provider related factors that may affect patient-provider communication about abuse for immigrant women | 14 Hispanic and 14 Asian women (n = 28) | 4 FG: 2 Hispanic, 2 Asian Thematic | √ |
| Pollock & Grime (2002) [ 37 ] | UK | Compare physicians’ and patients’ perspective of time constraints | 60 adults diagnosed with depression (ENR) | II h Thematic | |
| Beresford & Sloper (2003) [ 38 ] | UK | Identify factors that hinder or facilitate communication | 63 adolescents with chronic physical illness (36F, 27M) (ENR) | SSI Thematic | |
| Gask, Rogers, Oliver, May & Roland (2003) [ 39] | UK | Explore experiences of care that depressed patients receive from their physician | 27 patients with mild depression (19F, 8M) (ENR) | SSI Thematic | |
| Walter, Emery, Rogers & Britten (2004) [ 40 ] | UK | Examine women's perspectives of optimal risk communication and decision making | 34 native English-speaking women in menopause, 6 non-native English-speakers (n = 40) | FG & 4 SSI Thematic | |
| Ziviani, Lennox, Allison, Lyons & Del Mar (2004) [ 41 ] | Australia | Identify critical factors and obstacles to effective health communication | 3 adults with intellectual disabilities (2F, 1M) (ENR) | SSI Thematic | |
| Dubé, Fuller, Rosen, Fagan, O'Donnell (2004) [ 42] | USA | Examine communication issues important to men on cancer screening topics | 29 White, 8 Black, 5 Hispanic, 11 biracial, other and unspecified men (n = 53) | 8 FGs Thematic | |
| Ellis & Campbell (2005) [ 43 ] | USA | Explore the importance of concordant spiritual belief systems in patient-physician interactions | 1 Jewish, 6 Christian, 2 Agnostic, 1 Buddhist (6F, 4M) (n = 10) | SSI Thematic | |
| O'Day, Killeen, Sutton & Lezzoni (2005) [ 44 ] | USA | Explore perspective of psychiatrically ill patients receiving primary care | 11 Caucasian, 5 other with chronic psychiatric disorders (8F, 8M) (n = 16) | FG Thematic | |
| Sankar & Jones (2005) [ 45 ] | USA | Understand patient's perspective on information disclosure | 26 African American, 8 Asian, 5 Hispanic, 39 White, 4 Other women (n = 85) | II Thematic | |
| Ali, Atkin & Neal (2006) [ 25 ] | UK | Understand the ways in which White and South Asian patients communicate with White physicians | 7 White, 18 South Asian (21F, 4M) (n = 25) | Video recall and SSI Thematic | √ |
| Cant & Taket (2006) [ 46 ] | UK | Explore lesbians’ and gays’ experiences of primary care | 18 White, 5 Black and other ethnic minority (13F, 10M) (n = 23) | FG Grounded Theory | √ |
| Moffat, Cleland, van der Molen & Price (2006) [ 47] | UK | Explore patients' experiences of consultations regarding asthma | 14 patients with severe asthma (8F, 6M) (ENR) | SSI Grounded Theory | |
| Towle, Godolphin & Alexander (2006) [ 48 ] | Canada | Understand the complexity of physician-patient communication in Aboriginal communities | 26 Aboriginal patients (22F, 4M) | 8 SSI & 3 FGs Thematic | √ |
| Vickers, Jolly & Greenfield (2006) [ 49 ] | UK | Explore knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours about herbal medicine and use disclosure | 18 White British female herbal medicine users | II Thematic | |
| Abdulhadi, Shafaee, Freudenthal, Östenson & Wahlström (2007) [ 50] | Oman | Explore views of type 2 diabetic patients regarding medical encounter | 27 Omani type 2 diabetes patients (14F, 13M) | 4 FG Thematic | √ |
| Borgsteede, Deliens, Graafland-Riedstra, Francke, van der Wal & Willems (2007) [ 51] | Netherlands | Explore patients’ experiences of communicating about euthanasia | 12 patients with short life expectancy (ENR) | SSI Thematic | |
| Fagerli, Lien & Wandel (2007) [ 52] | Norway | Explore patients’ experiences of medical encounters | 15 Pakistani born type 2 diabetes patients (11F, 4M) | SSI Phenomenology | √ |
| Kokanovic & Manderson (2007) [ 53] | Australia | Describe the way patients in an Australian setting are told of diabetes | 8 Chinese, 8 Indian, 8 Pacific Island, 8 Greek type 2 diabetes patients (16F, 16M) (n = 32) | SSI Thematic | √ |
| Lowe, Griffiths & Sidhu (2007) [ 54] | UK | Explore attitudes and experiences of South Asian women towards contraceptive service provision | 19 Pakistani women (2 born in UK, 17 born abroad) | SSI Grounded Theory | √ |
| Mercer, Cawston & Bikker (2007) [ 55] | UK | Explore patients' views on determinants of quality of consultations in an economically deprived community | 72 White Caucasian low SES i patients (44F, 28M) | 11 FGs Grounded Theory | |
| Oliffe & Thorne (2007) [ 56] | Canada, Australia | Explore male patients’ experiences of interactions with male physicians about prostate cancer | 33 Australian, 19 Canadian men with prostate cancer (n = 52) | SSI Thematic | |
| Julliard, Vivard, Delgado, Cruz, Kabak & Sabers (2008) [ 57 ] | USA | Clarify which conditions reinforce nondisclosure of health information in clinical encounters between Latina patients and their physicians | 28 Hispanic women (8 born in US, 20 born in South or Central America) | SSI Grounded Theory | √ |
| Nguyen, Barg, Armstrong, Holmes & Hornik (2008) [ 58] | USA | Examine elements of physician-patient cancer communication from the viewpoint of older Vietnamese immigrants | 20 Vietnamese immigrants | SSI Grounded Theory | √ |
| Smith, Braunack-Mayer, Wittert & Warin (2008) [ 59] | Australia | Examine men’s experiences of communicating with physicians in order to describe qualities and styles of communication that men prefer | 30 Australian, 6 British men (n = 36) | SSI Thematic | |
| Shelley, Sussman, Williams, Segal & Crabtree (2009) [ 60] | USA | Compare patients’ and physicians’ perspectives on communication about complementary and alternative medicine | 40 Hispanic, 5 Non-Hispanic White, 48 Native American (72F, 21M) (n = 93) | SSI Thematic | √ |
| Wullink, Veldhuijzen, van Schrojenstein, de Valk, Metsemakers & Dinant (2009) [ 61] | Netherlands | Explore preferences of adults with intellectual disabilities based on positive and negative experiences of communication | 12 adults with intellectual disabilities (8F, 4M) (ENR) | 2 SSI & 1 FG Thematic | |
| Matthias, Bair, Nyland, Huffman, Stubbs, Damusb & Kroenke (2010) [ 62] | USA | Compare patients’ experiences of communication with nursing staff and communication with physicians | 18 adults with musculoskeletal pain and depression (11F, 7M) (ENR) | 4 FGs Thematic | |
| Peek, Odoms-Young, Quinn, Gorawara-Bhat, Wilson & Chin (2010) [ 63] | USA | Examine African American patients’ perceptions of the influence of race on physician-patient communication | 51 African American with diabetes (42F, 9M) | 24 SSI & 5 FGs Phenomenology | √ |
| Yorkston, Johnson, Boesflug, Skala & Amtmann (2010) [ 64] | USA | Explore patients’ experiences of communication about pain and fatigue | 22 White, 1 Black adult with chronic pain (18F, 5M) (n = 23) | FG Thematic | |
| Jagosh, Boudreau, Steinert, MacDonald & Ingram (2011) [ 65] | Canada | Understand patients attitudes, perceptions, and thoughts about their communication experiences | 55 adults (10 French-speaking; 45 English-speaking; 3 Bilingual) (32F, 26M) | SSI Thematic | |
| Walseth, Abildsnes & Schei (2011) [ 66] | Norway | Verify Haberma’s theory of communication according to patients’ perspective | 12 adults (5F, 7M) (ENR) | SSI Thematic | |
| Black (2012) [ 67] | USA | Explore elders' perspective of the influence of their beliefs on health care encounters | 60 African American elders (30F, 30M) | SSI Thematic | √ |
| Burton (2012) [ 68 ] | Guatemala | Explore the ways in which facework influences physician-patient interactions for Achi patients | 24 Achi Aboriginal patients | SSI & observations Thematic | √ |
| Dahm (2012) [ 69 ] | Australia | Explore the relationship between perceived time constraints, jargon use, and patient information-seeking | 7 Non-Native English-speakers from Europe and Asia, 10 Native English-speakers (14F, 3M) (n = 17) | SSI Grounded Theory | √ |
| Hartley, Sutherland, Brown & Yelland (2012) [ 70 ] | Australia | Explore women's views of care provided by physicians in the first 12 months postpartum | 29 women (ENR) | SSI Thematic | |
| Holmvall, Twohig, Francis & Kelloway (2012) [ 71 ] | Canada | Explore patients' experiences of fairness and commitment in health care contexts | 23 adults (15F, 8M) (ENR) | SSI Grounded Theory | |
| Shannon, O'Dougherty & Mehta (2012) [ 72 ] | USA | Explores refugees’ perspectives regarding communication barriers impeding on communication about war related trauma | 37 Liberia, 3 Laos, 3 Asian, 4 Africa, 1 Bosnia, 3 South American (32F, 18M) (n = 50) | SSI Thematic | √ |
| Weber & Mathews (2012) [ 73 ] | USA | Explore patients' perceptions of the quality of care delivered by a foreign international medical graduate physician | 4 White, 5 Black, 1 Native American lower SES patients (6F, 4M) (n = 10) | SSI Thematic | √ |
| Bergman, Matthias, Coffing & Krebs (2013) [ 74 ] | USA | Understand respective experiences, perceptions, and challenges both patients with chronic pain and physicians face communicating about pain | 20 White, 4 Black, 2 Other chronic pain patients (2F, 24M) (n = 26) | SSI Thematic | |
| Claramita, Mubarika, Nugraheni, van Dalen & van der Vleuten (2013) [ 75] | Indonesia | Examine cultural relevance of Western physician-patient communication style to Indonesian physician-patient interactions from the patients' and physicians’ perspective | 20 Javanese patients (Indonesian) | SSI Grounded Theory | √ |
| Cocksedge, George, Renwick & Chew-Graham (2013) [ 76] | UK | Explore the use of touch in consultations from both physician and patient perspectives | 10 White British, 1 other (n = 11) | SSI Thematic | |
| Hughes (2013) [ 77 ] | USA | Explore women’s experiences of communication about sexual health | 13 White, 13 African American, 1 Native American women (n = 27) | SSI Thematic | |
| Wilkinson, Dreyfus, Bowen & Bokhour (2013) [ 78 ] | USA | Examine communication and interaction as experienced by patients and physicians | 23 White, 3 Black intellectually disabled women (n = 27) | SSI Grounded Theory | |
| Baumbusch, Phinney, & Baumbusch (2014) [ 79] | Canada | Explore the perspective of adults with intellectual disabilities on helpful interactions with their family physician | 11 adults with intellectual disabilities (7F, 4M) | SSI Thematic | |
| Bayliss, Riste, Fisher, Wearden, Peters, Lovell, & Chew-Graham (2014) [80] | UK | Explore possible reasons why people from Black and ethnic minority groups may be less frequently diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome or myalgic encephalitis | 6 Pakistani, 2 Indian, 2 Black British, 1 Other White patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (8F, 3M) (n = 11) | SSI Thematic | √ |
| Marcinowicz Pawlikowska & Oleszczyk (2014) [ 81] | Poland | Identify which aspects of GPs' behaviour are the most important for older people in their perception of the quality of the GP visits | 30 patients over the age of 65 (18F, 12M) | SSI Thematic | |
| Matthias, Krebs, Bergman, Coffing, & Bair (2014) [82] | USA | Advance the understanding of communication about opioid treatment for chronic pain | 7 African American, 23 White veteran patients with chronic pain (4F, 26M) (n = 30) | SSI Thematic | |
| Ritholz, Beverly, Brooks, Abrahamson, & Weinger (2014) [83] | USA | Explore perceptions of barriers and facilitators to diabetes self-care communication during medical appointments | 34 patients with diabetes (82% non-Hispanic White) (41% female) | SSI Thematic | |
| Rose & Harris (2014) [84] | Australia | Explore the experiences of ethnically diverse patients with diabetes in receiving self-management support from GPs | 11 Arabic-speaking migrants, 9 English-speaking migrants, 8 Vietnamese-speaking migrants (17F, 11M) (n = 28) | FG Phenomenology | √ |
| Esquibel & Borkan (2014) [85] | USA | Explore ways in which opioid medication influences the doctor-patient relationship by exploring experiences of adults receiving opioid therapy and that of their physicians | 21 patients receiving opioid therapy (13F, 8M) | SSI Thematic | |
| Melton, Graff, Holmes, Brown, & Bailey (2014) [86] | USA | Explore the experience of asthma patients in the management of their illness | 4 African American patients with asthma (4F) | SSI Phenomenology | √ |
| Silver (2015) [87] | Canada | Explore barriers and facilitators of patient-provider communication about patient searches for health information on the Internet | 56 elderly patients (57% born in Canada) (30F, 26M) | SSI Grounded theory and thematic |
aUK: United Kingdom.
bUII: Unstructured individual interviews.
c√: Cultural aspects are discussed.
dENR: Ethnicity not reported.
eSSI: Semi-structured individual interviews.
fUSA: United States of America.
gFG: Focus group interviews.
hII: Individual interviews.
iSES: Socio-economic status.