Assessing patient experience of the tenets of osteopathic medicine.

CONTEXT: Previous studies document that both osteopathic physicians and third-party observers identify an approach to the patient that is consistent with the philosophy and tenets of osteopathic medicine, often without investigating whether patients identify or are satisfied with it. Osteopathic physicians and the medical education community understand the distinctiveness of an osteopathic approach to the patient. Understanding the outcomes of an osteopathic approach to patient care includes confirming whether patients experience the tenets of osteopathic medicine in physician visits and, if so, how it relates to their experience of physician empathy and satisfaction with the visit. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to assess patient experience of the tenets of osteopathic medicine, physician empathy, and satisfaction with the visit and to compare the results for patients who saw DOs with those who saw MD physicians. METHODS: More than 2000 patients at four outpatient clinic facilities were surveyed after a clinical visit on 22 prompts regarding their experiences of physician behaviors, physician empathy, and their own satisfaction with the encounter. Adult patients who were treated by an osteopathic or allopathic physician for a nonemergency encounter and who were not pregnant were included in the analysis. Survey results for 1,330 patient-physician encounters were analyzed utilizing linear regression models comparing constructs representing patient experiences of the tenets of osteopathic medicine (Tenets), physician empathy (Physician Empathy), satisfaction (Satisfaction) with the encounter, as well as additional demographic and encounter variables. RESULTS: Approximately 23.8 % of patients approached during the study period completed a survey (n=2,793), and among those, 54.7 % of patients who consented to the study and who saw a physician provider (n=1,330/2,431) were included. Significant (p≤0.01), positive associations among patient experiences of Satisfaction with the visit and Physician Empathy were observed among those who saw both DO and MD physicians. Patients experienced the Tenets during encounters with both DO and MD physicians, but linear regression showed that their experience of the Tenets was significantly (p≤0.01) and positively explained by their experience of Physician Empathy (ß=0.332, p=0.00, se=0.052) and Satisfaction with the visit (ß=0.209, p=0.01, se=0.081) only when the physician was a DO. CONCLUSIONS: Patients identified physician behaviors consistent with the Tenets and positively associated their experiences of Physician Empathy and Satisfaction with the visit regardless of physician training background. Patient experience of the Tenets significantly explained their experiences of Physician Empathy and Satisfaction after visits with a DO but not after visits with an MD.

Relationship between number of disability-related conditions and stigma among U.S. adults.

Purpose/Objective Research: Stigma is a common experience for people with disabilities. Stigmatization may lead to disparities in education, employment, and health care, quality of life, and psychological distress. This study's purpose was to (a) determine the relationship between number of disability conditions and stigma for adults with disabilities; and (b) examine whether identifying as a person with a disability, noticeability of a disability or gender moderate relationship between number of disability conditions and stigma. RESEARCH METHOD/DESIGN: We conducted secondary analyses of data from the Disability Health Identity survey, originally collected in 2017 (n = 711). RESULTS: Multivariable linear regression analysis indicated the association between number of disability conditions and stigma was not significant (.567). However, the association between number of disability conditions and stigma was modified by noticeability (p = .007). The relationship between number of disability conditions and stigma was stronger for people with more noticeable disabilities. CONCLUSION/IMPLICATIONS: This research is important because it increases understanding of factors that may play a role in stigma experiences for people with disabilities. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).