Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2023 Aug 22;23(1):886.
doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-09869-8.

Quality communication can improve patient-centred health outcomes among older patients: a rapid review

Samer H Sharkiya  1
Affiliations
Review

Quality communication can improve patient-centred health outcomes among older patients: a rapid review

Samer H Sharkiya. BMC Health Serv Res. .

Abstract

Background: Effective communication is a cornerstone of quality healthcare. Communication helps providers bond with patients, forming therapeutic relationships that benefit patient-centred outcomes. The information exchanged between the provider and patient can help in medical decision-making, such as better self-management. This rapid review investigated the effects of quality and effective communication on patient-centred outcomes among older patients.

Methods: Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were searched using keywords like "effective communication," "elderly," and "well-being." Studies published between 2000 and 2023 describing or investigating communication strategies between older patients (65 years and above) and providers in various healthcare settings were considered for selection. The quality of selected studies was assessed using the GRADE Tool.

Results: The search strategy yielded seven studies. Five studies were qualitative (two phenomenological study, one ethnography, and two grounded theory studies), one was a cross-sectional observational study, and one was an experimental study. The studies investigated the effects of verbal and nonverbal communication strategies between patients and providers on various patient-centred outcomes, such as patient satisfaction, quality of care, quality of life, and physical and mental health. All the studies reported that various verbal and non-verbal communication strategies positively impacted all patient-centred outcomes.

Conclusion: Although the selected studies supported the positive impact of effective communication with older adults on patient-centred outcomes, they had various methodological setbacks that need to be bridged in the future. Future studies should utilize experimental approaches, generalizable samples, and specific effect size estimates.

Keywords: Aged; Effective communication; Patient outcomes.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
PRISMA Flowchart summarising the study selection process
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Alnaser F. Effective communication skills and patient’s health. CPQ Neurol Psychol. 2020;3(4):1–11.
    1. Skarbalienė A, Skarbalius E, Gedrime L. Effective communication in the healthcare settings: are the graduates ready for it? Management (Split, Online). 2019;24:137–47.
    1. Holm A, Karlsson V, Dreyer P. Nurses’ experiences of serving as a communication guide and supporting the implementation of a communication intervention in the intensive care unit. Int J Qualitative Stud Health Well-being. 2021;16(1):1971598. doi: 10.1080/17482631.2021.1971598. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Chichirez CM, Purcărea VL. Interpersonal communication in healthcare. J Med Life. 2018;11(2):119–22. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Świątoniowska-Lonc N, Polański J, Tański W, Jankowska-Polańska B. Impact of satisfaction with physician–patient communication on self-care and adherence in patients with hypertension: cross-sectional study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2020;20(1):1046. doi: 10.1186/s12913-020-05912-0. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources