Face-to-face communication between patients and family physicians in Canada: A scoping review

• Published in: Patient education and counseling Vol. 101; no. 5; pp. 789 - 803
• Main Authors: Armas, Alana, Meyer, Samantha B., Corbett, Kitty K., Pearce, Alex R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Ireland Elsevier B.V 01-05-2018
• Subjects: Canada; Communication; Communication Barriers; Cultural Characteristics; Cultural Competency; Emigrants and Immigrants; Health communication; Healthcare; Humans; Language; Nursing; Patient-provider communication; Physician-Patient Relations; Physicians, Family - psychology; Primary care; Primary Health Care - methods; Scoping review; Canada; Scoping review; Canada; Healthcare; Primary care; Health communication; Patient-provider communication
• ISSN: 0738-3991; 1873-5134
• DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2017.11.008

•Canada’s sociocultural determinants create communication challenges in primary care.•Patient-centred care fosters communication with vulnerable patient populations.•Communication and decisions aids have been developed for primary care.•Research in Canada should focus on marginalized and minority groups.
Patient-provider communication is critical in primary care. Canada’s unique health system, population distribution, and cultural context suggest there is value in addressing the topic in the Canadian context. We conducted a scoping review to synthesize recent Canadian literature to inform practice in primary care settings and identify research agendas for patient-provider communication in Canada.
Using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework we searched four literature databases: Medline, Web of Science, CINAHL and EMBASE. We extracted 21,932 articles published between 2010 and 2017. A total of 108 articles met the inclusion criteria. The articles were analyzed qualitatively using thematic analysis to identify major themes.
Four major themes were identified: information sharing, relationships, health system challenges, and development and use of communication tools.
Our review identified a need for Canadian research regarding: communication in primary care with Aboriginal, immigrant, and rural populations; the impact of medical tourism on primary care; and how to improve communication to facilitate continuity of care.
Challenges providers face in primary care in Canada include: communicating with linguistically and culturally diverse populations; addressing issues that emerge with the rise of medical tourism; a need for decision aids to improve communication with patients.