About this Research Topic
In the rapidly evolving landscape of healthcare, the relationship between patients and healthcare providers has become increasingly dynamic. Central to this evolving relationship are the concepts of trust, effective communication, shared decision-making, continuity of care, and empathy. Each of these elements plays a crucial role in ensuring that patients are supported, feel understood, and are actively involved in their own care.
This Research Topic seeks to explore the factors influencing healthcare professional-patient communication and highlight best practices, identify gaps, and propose innovative solutions to enhance the patient-healthcare professional relationship. We aim to gather comprehensive insights into how these factors contribute to improved health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and overall quality of care. We are particularly interested in contributions exploring:
• Trust in Healthcare: the factors that build or erode trust between patients and healthcare providers, including studies on institutional trust, transparency, and the impact of digital health technologies.
• Professional-Patient Communication: communication strategies that enhance understanding, patient satisfaction, patient engagement in treatment plans, including verbal and non-verbal communication, cultural competence, digital communication, and the use of health literacy tools.
• Shared Decision Making: methodologies and frameworks that facilitate shared decision-making processes, ensuring that patients' values and preferences are respected in joint care plans.
• Continuity of Care: the importance of continuous, coordinated care and its impact on patient outcomes, including the role of primary care teams, care transitions, and long-term patient-provider relationships.
• Empathy in Healthcare: the role of empathy in clinical practice, its impact on patient care experiences, and strategies for cultivating empathy among healthcare providers.
• Partnership with Patients: the role of patients as partners in their own care, including the co-design of healthcare services, patient-led research initiatives, and the impact of patient advisory councils.
• Technology for Communication: the influence of new technologies on communication strategies and trust in healthcare providers and systems, including technological literacy and comfort levels and data privacy concerns.
We welcome submissions from researchers, clinicians, patient advocates, and healthcare policy experts dedicated to fostering a more patient-centred approach to healthcare. All article types are welcome.
This Research Topic seeks to explore the factors influencing healthcare professional-patient communication and highlight best practices, identify gaps, and propose innovative solutions to enhance the patient-healthcare professional relationship. We aim to gather comprehensive insights into how these factors contribute to improved health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and overall quality of care. We are particularly interested in contributions exploring:
• Trust in Healthcare: the factors that build or erode trust between patients and healthcare providers, including studies on institutional trust, transparency, and the impact of digital health technologies.
• Professional-Patient Communication: communication strategies that enhance understanding, patient satisfaction, patient engagement in treatment plans, including verbal and non-verbal communication, cultural competence, digital communication, and the use of health literacy tools.
• Shared Decision Making: methodologies and frameworks that facilitate shared decision-making processes, ensuring that patients' values and preferences are respected in joint care plans.
• Continuity of Care: the importance of continuous, coordinated care and its impact on patient outcomes, including the role of primary care teams, care transitions, and long-term patient-provider relationships.
• Empathy in Healthcare: the role of empathy in clinical practice, its impact on patient care experiences, and strategies for cultivating empathy among healthcare providers.
• Partnership with Patients: the role of patients as partners in their own care, including the co-design of healthcare services, patient-led research initiatives, and the impact of patient advisory councils.
• Technology for Communication: the influence of new technologies on communication strategies and trust in healthcare providers and systems, including technological literacy and comfort levels and data privacy concerns.
We welcome submissions from researchers, clinicians, patient advocates, and healthcare policy experts dedicated to fostering a more patient-centred approach to healthcare. All article types are welcome.
Keywords: patient-centred care, trust, communication, health outcomes, decision making, continuity, empathy, patient partners, telemedicine, patient engagement
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
