UTA Researchers Discover Listening to Patient Concerns Improves Health Outcomes

(from left to right) Tiffany Kindratt, PhD, MPH, Grace E. Brannon, PhD, and Kyrah Brown, PhD

A trio of University of Texas at Arlington researchers focused on patient-centered communications found that women who felt their health concerns were listened to by their health care providers had more positive outcomes compared to those who did not feel heard. Their research explored “whether or not a patient’s doctor was more likely to give them a chance to ask questions, explain things, ask them to teach back what they told them they needed to do for their health, and then confirm their understanding” as characteristics of optimal patient-centered communication, Kindratt said.

Using data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, the researchers examined feedback of nearly 500 non-pregnant women between the ages of 18 and 45 and living with diabetes. Results showed that patients who reported experiencing optimal patient-centered communication were more likely to adhere to a diabetes care regimen.