Social science & medicine
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Social science & medicine · May 2005
Physician-elderly patient-companion communication and roles of companions in Japanese geriatric encounters.
Although the triadic encounter of physician, patient, and an accompanying family member is a common phenomenon in geriatrics, previous research on the communication in medical encounters has primarily focused on dyadic interactions between physician and patient. This study aimed to explore the triadic communication and communication roles of patient companions in Japanese geriatric encounters. Among elderly patients aged 65 or over who were under continuous care of nine attending physicians at a university affiliated geriatric clinic in Tokyo, 63 accompanied patients and 82 unaccompanied patients were included for this study. ⋯ The patient's expectation of the companion's role during the visit and the companion's intention regarding their role were generally related to one another, and had positive associations with the companion's actual behavior during the visit. Nevertheless, companions often anticipated playing a more direct communication role during the visit, including the provision of information and asking of questions, than patients expected of them. Further investigation is needed to explore the communication dynamics in triads and dyads, and its relation to patient outcomes.