Surgeons' non-transparent facemasks challenge the physician-patient relationship in the orthopedic outpatient clinic of a tertiary university hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic: a prospective cohort study of 285 patients.
Acta Orthop
; 93: 198-205, 2022 01 03.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1607747
ABSTRACT
Background and purpose - Facemasks play a role in preventing the respiratory spread of SARS-CoV-2, but their impact on the physician-patient relationship in the orthopedic outpatient clinic is unclear. We investigated whether the type of surgeons' facemask impacts patients' perception of the physician-patient relationship, influences their understanding of what the surgeon said, or affects their perceived empathy. Patients and methods - All patients with an appointment in the orthopedic outpatient clinic of a tertiary university hospital during the 2-week study period were included. During consultations, all surgeons wore a non-transparent (first study week) or transparent facemask (second study week). Results of 285 of 407 eligible patients were available for analysis. The doctor-patient relationship was evaluated using the standardized Patient Reactions Assessment (PRA) and a 10-point Likert-scale questionnaire ranging from 0 (strongly disagree) to 10 (strongly agree). Results - A non-transparent facemask led to more restrictions in the physician-patient communication and a worse understanding of what the surgeon said. Patients' understanding improved with a transparent facemask with greatest improvements reported by patients aged 65 years and older (non-transparent 6 [IQR 5-10] vs. transparent 10 [IQR 9-10], p < 0.001) and by patients with a self-reported hearing impairment (non-transparent 7 [IQR 3-7] vs. transparent 9 [IQR 9-10], p < 0.001). The median PRA score was higher when surgeons wore a transparent facemask (p= 0.003). Interpretation - Surgeons' non-transparent facemasks pose a new communication barrier that can negatively affect the physician-patient relationship. While emotional factors like affectivity and empathy seem to be less affected overall, the physician-patient communication and patients' understanding of what the surgeon said seem to be negatively affected.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Physician-Patient Relations
/
Equipment Design
/
Pandemics
/
Orthopedic Surgeons
/
COVID-19
/
Masks
Type of study:
Cohort study
/
Experimental Studies
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Observational study
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Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Adult
/
Aged
/
Female
/
Humans
/
Male
/
Middle aged
Language:
English
Journal:
Acta Orthop
Journal subject:
Orthopedics
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
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