Efficacy of communication-based interventions on physicians and patients’ outcome: A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials

Abstract

Communication-based intervention on physicians are strongly linked to patient health improvement. We proceeded examine the efficiency of these programs interventions for relevant outcomes in patients life, along with study quality, publication bias and potential moderators. For this meta-analysis, we searched 2 databases, including: Web of Science and PubMed, using a comprehensive search strategy to identify the efficacy of the physician interventions on patient’s outcome studies in the literature, published from inception of 1965. Studies reporting means of health-related outcome in patients were included in the analyses. Studies quality was assessed with risk of bias tool. Meta-regression was used to explore heterogeneity of the year of published studies moderator and subgroup analysis was used to explore the medical specialty moderator. Of the 3,470 studies initially identified, 14 were eligible for inclusion. These studies had a large diversity of program interventions. The mean effect size representing the impact of communication intervention on patients physical and psychological health was not significant. The only significant mean effect was represented by psychological outcome. Significant associations were found between year of studies and general medicine specialization. In conclusion the impact of physicians’ intervention in not efficient on patients’ communication and medical outcome but it improves psychological health.

Keywords

• communication-based intervention
• physician-patient relationship
• patient outcome
• patient health