The doctor-patient relationship and barriers in non-verbal communication during teleconsultation in the era of COVID-19: A scoping review

Abstract

Background: Telemedicine is increasingly being used to provide virtual medical care. However, the transition to virtual consultations presents challenges for non-verbal communication. This scoping review aimed to identify and summarize studies that present data on barriers to non-verbal communication during teleconsultation. Methods: We searched MEDLINE/Pubmed, Ovid, APA, EBSCO, Web of Science and Scielo, without language or region restrictions. Our study included case series, cross-sectional, retrospective, and prospective cohorts that addressed barriers in any aspect of the non-verbal communication during teleconsultation. The quality of the evidence was assessed by the New Castle-Ottawa and Murad tools, and a thematic analysis was used for the qualitative synthesis of results. Results: We included 18 studies that reported qualitative findings related to the dimensions of non-verbal communication in telemedicine, which include ‘head and face’, ‘voice and speech’, ‘body language’, and ‘technical aspects’. The most reported barriers were facial gestures, looks, and body posture. Conclusions: Our study identified several dimensions of non-verbal communication that may pose barriers during teleconsultation. These findings may help guide the development of strategies to address these barriers and improve the quality of telemedicine services.