Evaluation of the quality of the doctor-patient relationship in the Northeast of Portugal
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32385/rpmgf.v40i3.13490Keywords:
Empathy, Doctor-patient relationship, Communication in health care practice, Holistic approach, Family doctorAbstract
Introduction: The family doctor develops a person-centered approach, oriented toward the individual, the family, and the community in which he is inserted, with empathy being the major key to this relationship.
Objectives: Understand the doctor-patient relationship in the context of primary health care (PHC) in the Northeast of Portugal.
Methods: A descriptive study was carried out with a sample of PHC. Demographic data (biological sex-binary classification, age, county of residence, and education), questions about the perception of PHC, and the application of the Jefferson Empathy Scale (JSPPPE-VP) were collected through an online platform with the dissemination of information through social media and physical format in PHC of the Unidade Local de Saúde do Nordeste. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS® Statistics software.
Results: The sample consisted of 584 individuals (median age: 45 years old), mostly women (67.47%), with an undergraduate level of education (57.71%). Most people (75.51%) say that their family doctor is the first person that they turn to when they have a health problem because they believe he has the necessary skills to better manage their health problems (69.52%). In terms of accessibility, 61.30% and 60.96% respectively consider that it is easy to get an appointment and to clarify specific doubts. Of the respondents, 22.95% did not agree with the average duration of consultations (20 minutes), preferring 30 minutes. When the JSPPE-VP was applied, approximately 50.00% of the respondents indicated that they strongly or completely agreed with all the items evaluated.
Conclusions: The sample obtained showed overall satisfaction with the provision, accessibility, and quality of services, as well as the duration of the consultation. It can also be concluded that there is a high level of satisfaction with the empathy of the family doctor.
Downloads
References
World Health Organization. Cuidados de saúde primários [homepage]. Geneva: WHO; 2023 Nov 15. Available from: https://www.who.int/world-health-day/world-health-day-2019/fact-sheets/details/primary-health-care
Ordem dos Médicos. Perfil de competências do especialista em medicina geral e familiar [homepage]. Lisboa: OM; 2019 Aug 28 [cited 2021 Mar 21]. Available from: https://ordemdosmedicos.pt/perfil-de-competencias-do-especialista-em-medicina-geral-e-familiar/
Santos P, Sá AB, Santiago L, Hespanhol A. A árvore da WONCA: tradução e adaptação cultural para português [The WONCA tree: Portuguese translation and cultural adaptation]. Rev Port Med Geral Fam. 2021;37(1):28-35. Portuguese
Borrell-Carrió F, Suchman AL, Epstein RM. The biopsychosocial model 25 years later: principles, practice and scientific inquiry. Ann Fam Med. 2004;2(6):576-82.
Derksen F, Bensing J, Lagro-Janssen A. Effectiveness of empathy in general practice: a systematic review. Br J Gen Pract. 2013;63(606):e76-84.
Frankenhaeuser M. A biopsychosocial approach to work life issues. Int J Health Serv. 1989;19(4);747-58.
Pagé MG, Fortier M, Ware MA, Choinière M. As if one pain problem was not enough: prevalence and patterns of coexisting chronic conditions and their impact on treatment options. J Pain Res. 2018;11:237-54.
Gagliese L, Gauthier LR, Narain N, Freedman T. Pain, aging and dementia: towards a biopsychosocial model. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2018;87(Pt B):207-15.
Cardoso RM. Competências clínicas de comunicação. Porto: Afrontamento; 2018. ISBN 9789899795303
Duff-Brown B. How growing time constrains impact primary care physicians and patients [homepage]. Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies of the Stanford University; 2018 Sep 19 [cited 2021 Mar 18]. Available from: https://fsi.stanford.edu/news/how-growing-time-constrains-impact-primary-care-physicians-and-patients
Nunes JM. A comunicação em contexto clínico. Lisboa: [s.n.]; 2010.
Fiscella K, Epstein RM. So much to do, so little time: care for the disadvantaged and the 15-minute visit. Arch Intern Med. 2008;168(17):1843-52.
Macedo A, Cavadas LF, Sousa M, Pires P, Santos JA, Machado A. Empathy in family medicine. Rev Port Clin Geral. 2011;27(6):527-32.
Roque H, Veloso A, Ferreira PL. Versão portuguesa do questionário EUROPEP: contributos para a validação psicométrica [Portuguese version of the EUROPEP questionnaire: contributions to the psychometric validation]. Rev Saúde Pública. 2016;50:61. Portuguese
Surbakti EF, Sari K. The relationship between consultation length and patient satisfaction: a systematic review. In: The 2nd International Conference on Hospital Administration, KnE Life Sciences. 2018;2018:41-9.
Oxtoby K. Consultation times. BMJ. 2010;340:c2554.
Simões JA, Prazeres F, Maricoto T, Simões PA, Lourenço J, Romano JP, et al. Physician empathy and patient enablement: survey in the Portuguese primary health care. Fam Pract. 2021;38(5):606-11.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Portuguese Journal of Family Medicine and General Practice
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
The authors will assign to the RPMGF the sole right to publish and distribute the content of the manuscript specified in this declaration via physical, electronic, broadcasting or any other medium that may come into existence. They also grant the RPMGF the right to use and exploit this manuscript, in particular by assigning, selling or licensing its content. This permission is permanent and takes effect from the moment the manuscript is submitted, has the maximum duration allowed by applicable Portuguese or international law and is of worldwide scope. The authors further declare that this assignment is made free of charge. If the RPMGF informs the authors that it is not going to publish their manuscript, the exclusive assignment of rights ceases forthwith.
The authors authorise the RPMGF (or any entity it may appoint) to act on their behalf when it believes that copyright may have been infringed.
