Relationship Between Satisfaction With Medical Care, Physical Health, and Emotional Well-Being in Adult Men: Mediating Role of Communication

Abstract

Background: Non-communicable diseases and psychiatric pathologies are the health problems that most affect the population in the United States.

Objective: This study aimed to examine the mediating role of patient-centered communication (PCC) in the relationship between satisfaction with medical care, physical health, and emotional well-being in American men.

Methods: A cross-sectional - predictive study was carried out. The variables analyzed were satisfaction with medical care, physical health, and emotional well-being. Information from the Health Information National Trends Survey Data (HINTS) was used; HINTS 5, cycle 3 (collected between January and June 2019) and 4 (2020). Data from 3338 men were considered (mean age: M = 55.40, SD = 19.53). Data analyses were carried out using structural equation modeling (SEM) to represent the statistical mediation model with latent and observable variables.

Results: Analyses showed that the variables were significantly related (P < .01). In the mediation model, there is evidence that satisfaction predicts communication (β = .764, P < .001) and this, in turn, is related to physical health (β = .079, P = .007) and emotional well-being (β = .145, P < .001). In addition, the standardized estimates of the structural multiple mediation model presented acceptable goodness-of-fit indices: χ²/gl = 2.24, CFI = 0.999, TLI = 0.999, RMSEA = 0.019 [90% CI: 0.013-0.022], SRMR = 0.018.

Conclusion: Patient-centered communication plays a significant dual mediating role in the relationship between satisfaction with medical care, physical health, and emotional well-being, respectively. Therefore, PCC is essential in healthcare for American men.

Keywords: communication; men; patient satisfaction; patient-centered care; personal satisfaction.

Figure 1.

SEM mediation analysis. Dimensions of patient-centered communication: “How often did they help you deal with feelings of uncertainty about your health or healthcare?” (PC1); “How often did they spend enough time with you?” (PC2); “How often did they explain things in a way you could understand?” (PC3); “How often did they make sure you understood the things you needed to do to take care of your health?” (PC4); “How often did they involve you in decisions about your healthcare as much as you wanted?” (PC5); “How often did they give the attention you needed to your feelings and emotions?” (PC6); and “How often did they give you the chance to ask all the health-related questions you had?” (PC7). Dimensions of emotional well-being: “Little interest or pleasure in doing things” (EW1); “feeling down, depressed, or hopeless” (EW2); “feeling nervous, anxious, or on the edge” (EW3); and “not being able to stop or control worry” (EW4).