The impact of health literacy, patient-centered communication and shared decision-making on patients’ satisfaction with care received in German primary care practices

Abstract

BackgroundFindings on the association between health literacy skills and patient-reported outcomes such as satisfaction with health care delivery are scarce. We explored the extent to which subjective health literacy skills and the perception of the application of patient-centered communication and shared decision-making are associated with patient’s satisfaction with care received by their general practitioner (GP).MethodsA nationwide cross sectional survey was administered in a random sample of 1125 German adults. A binary logistic regression model controlling for demographics and health status was used to examine the independent contributions of predictor variables (i.e. subjective health literacy, shared decision-making, patient-centered communication) on satisfaction with care received by the GP.ResultsRespondents with sufficient health literacy skills were 2.06 times as likely (95 % [CI]: 1.002–4.264) and those who were involved in shared decision-making by their GP were 4.02 times as likely (95 % [CI]: 1.849–8.744) to be satisfied with care received by their GP. Respondents who experienced that their GP explained things in an easy to understand way (OR: 4.44; 95 % [CI]: 1.817–10.869), knew important things about their medical history (OR: 3.46; 95 % [CI]: 1.502–7.994) and spent enough time with them, also reported to be more satisfied (OR: 3.12; 95 % [CI]: 1.410–6.905).ConclusionGerman adults having sufficient subjective health literacy skills and experiencing a more patient-centered relationship with their GP are more likely to be satisfied with care. These findings are important for health care organizations aiming to respond to health literacy needs of patients.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12913-016-1693-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Determinants of satisfactory patient communication and shared decision making in patients with multiple myeloma

“…Our results further suggest that eHealth literacy, trust in the health care system, and family self‐efficacy are important factors that contribute to satisfactory patient communication for patients with MM. These findings are in line with previous studies on effective patient‐physician relationships: Patient communication is significantly associated with eHealth literacy, trust in the health care system, and partner involvement . Also, our findings agree with what prior research has found that eHealth literacy is significantly associated with trust in health care systems .…”

“…These findings are in line with previous studies on effective patientphysician relationships: Patient communication is significantly associated with eHealth literacy, trust in the health care system, and partner involvement. [20][21][22] Also, our findings agree with what prior research has found that eHealth literacy is significantly associated with trust in health care systems. 18,23,24 However, to the best of our knowledge, Our study had following strengths.…”

“…However, high levels of eHealth literacy may not improve family decision‐making self‐efficacy because such link is nonintuitive and could be weak. On the basis of the literature, we proposed a theoretical model (Figure A) with the following hypotheses: (1) Higher levels of eHealth literacy are directly associated with better shared decision making, and (2) higher levels of eHealth literacy are indirectly associated with better shared decision making through stronger trust in health care systems and better patient‐doctor communication. To the best of our knowledge, no studies have proposed a model to investigate factors contributing to satisfactory shared decision making in patients with MM.…”

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