Family practice
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In primary care, many consultations address symptom-based complaints. Recovery from these complaints seldom exceeds placebo effects. Patient participation, because of its supposed effects on trust and patient expectancies, is assumed to benefit patients' recovery. While the idea is theoretically promising, it is still unclear what the effects of increased patient participation are on patient outcomes. Aim. To review the effects of controlled intervention studies aiming to improve patient participation in face-to-face primary care consultations on patient-oriented and/or disease-oriented outcomes. ⋯ Little research has been performed on health outcomes of interventions aiming to increase patient participation in general practice visits among patients suffering from symptom-based complaints. The results still are non-conclusive. The quality of the trials has been weak, possibly due to the complexity of the concept. This weak quality may explain the lack of conclusive results. Proposals for future research designs are offered.