ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To reduce the high failed appointment rate and anxiety levels among previously identified anxious new patients referred by general practitioners to a unit of restorative dentistry. A letter was drawn up which contained more explanatory information about the purpose and content of the initial dental appointment. DESIGN: The study was a single centre, double blind trial. SETTING: Referrals of nervous/anxious patients from general practitioners to the Manchester Dental Hospital. SUBJECTS: 185 patients were randomly allocated to the control group (n = 94) who received the standard hospital appointment information and the experimental group (n = 91) who received the new more informative letter. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The effect of the new letter on patient attendance was recorded and anxiety levels were measured before and after seeing the clinician. RESULTS: 70 patients attended from the control group and 58 patients from the experimental group, giving 59 and 44 fully completed forms respectively. Both groups of patients were generally happy with the information that they were given. The attendance of patients in the experimental group and the control group were not significantly different. Preconsultation state anxiety levels were not reduced in the experimental group by the provision of the additional information but after the consultation both groups showed a significant reduction in state anxiety (P < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The new more informative letter did not improve attendance among this group of nervous patients. Other strategies for increasing initial attendance will therefore need to be identified and evaluated. In this study, the most important factor in reducing anxiety levels during the consultation appeared to be contact with the clinician rather than preparatory written postal information.
Subject(s)
Appointments and Schedules , Dental Anxiety/psychology , Dental Care/psychology , Dental Service, Hospital , Patient Satisfaction , Adult , Chi-Square Distribution , Correspondence as Topic , Dental Anxiety/prevention & control , Dentist-Patient Relations , Double-Blind Method , Female , General Practice, Dental , Humans , Male , Patient Education as Topic , Referral and ConsultationABSTRACT
This paper reports a successful experimental attempt to increase satisfaction with communications amongst general medical patients. A group of patients who received extra interviews designed to increase their understanding of what they had been told about their illnesses showed significantly greater satisfaction than patients treated in the usual manner, and patients who received extra placebo interviews about their hospital stay. Changes in satisfaction with communications over the period following discharge from hospital are also described and possible reasons for them are discussed.
Subject(s)
Communication , Hospitalization , Patient Acceptance of Health Care , Adult , Female , Humans , Knowledge of Results, Psychological , Male , Middle Aged , Physician-Patient RelationsABSTRACT
Two laboratory experiments are described in which volunteer subjects read advice on how to develop self-control over eating behaviour. Formulating the communications in terms of specific instructions rather than general rules and the use of simple language as determined by a readability formula led to increased recall of the advice. These findings were confirmed in a naturalistic setting in which the same material was presented orally to patients receiving treatment for obesity. The results of these investigations are believed to have implications for improving communications between doctors and their patients and possibly for increasing the degree to which patients comply with medical recommendations.