Abstract
Patients might exaggerate their symptoms in an attempt to align the clinician's views with their own. A person who sees potential benefit in symptom exaggeration might also experience less trust, more difficulty communicating, and lower satisfaction with their clinician. We asked if there was an association between patient rating of communication effectiveness, patient satisfaction, and patient trust with symptom exaggeration? One hundred and thirty-two patients in four orthopaedic offices completed surveys including demographics, Communication-Effectiveness-Questionnaire (CEQ-6), Negative-Pain-Thoughts-Questionnaire (NPTQ-4), a Guttman-style satisfaction question, PROMIS Depression, and Stanford Trust in Physician. Patients were randomly assigned to answer three questions about symptom exaggeration for two scenarios: 1) their own exaggeration during the just-completed visit or 2) the average person's tendency to exaggerate. In multivariable analysis, lower ratings of communication effectiveness were associated with greater symptom exaggeration (p=0.002), while an annual household income>$100,000 (p=0.033) was associated with higher ratings. Higher rating of satisfaction was associated with lower education attained (p=0.004). Greater trust was associated with lower personal exaggeration (p=0.002). The relationship between greater exaggeration and lower ratings of communication effectiveness and trust suggests that symptom descriptions that seem more intense or diffuse than expected may indicate opportunities for more effective communication and trust. Patient experience can be improved by training clinicians to identify symptom exaggeration as a signal that the patient does not feel heard and understood and a cue to return to communication strategies that build trust.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.