SynthesisBMC psychiatry2012
The effect of clinician-patient alliance and communication on treatment adherence in mental health care: a systematic review.
Synthesis in BMC psychiatry, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 103 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
103 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Short- and Long-Term Outcomes of Suboptimal Medication Adherence in Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Systematic Literature Review.Journal of child and adolescent psychopharmacology · 2024Pooled it
- A systematic review of interventions to support adults with ADHD at work-Implications from the paucity of context-specific research for theory and practice.Frontiers in psychology · 2022Pooled it
- Barriers and facilitators to GP-patient communication about emotional concerns in UK primary care: a systematic review.Family practice · 2020Pooled it
- Clinician descriptions of communication strategies to improve treatment engagement by racial/ethnic minorities in mental health services: A systematic review.Patient education and counseling · 2016Pooled it
- Veterans' views of PARTNER-MH, a peer-led patient navigation intervention, to improve patient engagement in care and patient-clinician communication: A qualitative study.Patient education and counseling · 2023Trial
- The Effect of Multimodal Emotional Expression on Responses to a Digital Human during a Self-Disclosure Conversation: a Computational Analysis of User Language.Journal of medical systems · 2020Trial
- A digital intake approach in specialized mental health care: study protocol of a cluster randomised controlled trial.BMC psychiatry · 2017Trial
- Effect of clinician-patient communication on compliance with flupentixol-melitracen in functional dyspepsia patients.World journal of gastroenterology · 2015Trial
- Patient and clinician experiences of language barriers in Qatar's multilingual public mental health care: a qualitative study.International journal of qualitative studies on health and well-being · 2026Article
- A Decision-Aid Improves Clinician Practice and Associated Patient Compression Stocking Adherence.International wound journal · 2026Observational
- The LIFE-ACE Framework of Building Therapeutic Relationships that Support Recovery in Japanese Community Mental Health: A Qualitative Study.Community mental health journal · 2026Article
- The development and validation of the questionnaire My Experience with ADHD Pharmacotherapy - Parent Report (ME WAPH-P).European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2026Article
- Evidence-Based Laboratory Medicine for Cardiovascular Disease Management in Mental Healthcare: A Literature Review.Cureus · 2026Review
- The Access, Initiation, Engagement, Retention, and Recovery (AIERR) Model: A Stage-Based Framework for Understanding Mental Health Service Utilization.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Can Adhering to Clinical Communication Guidelines Promote Trust, Liking and Respect for General Practitioners and Willingness to Discuss Depression? A Theory-Based Test.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- "It seems like they are guessing": a qualitative study of the prescribing process from the perspective of individuals diagnosed with personality disorder.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- AI-driven mental health decision support linked to clinician resilience and preparedness.Frontiers in digital health · 2026Article
- Satisfaction with primary health care services among patients with chronic diseases: a qualitative study.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- Adherence to medical recommendations in high-risk pregnancy: dispositional and situational predictors with a focus on emotional reactivity.CNS spectrums · 2025Article
- Engaging with care in an early intervention for psychosis program: The role of language, communication, and culture.Transcultural psychiatry · 2025Article
43 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundNonadherence to mental health treatment incurs clinical and economic burdens. The clinician-patient alliance, negotiated through clinical interaction, presents a critical intervention point. Recent medical reviews of communication and adherence behaviour exclude studies with psychiatric samples. The following examines the impact of clinician-patient alliance and communication on adherence in mental health, identifying the specific mechanisms that mobilise patient engagement.
methodsIn December 2010, a systematic search was conducted in Pubmed, PsychInfo, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase and Cinahl and yielded 6672 titles. A secondary hand search was performed in relevant journals, grey literature and reference.
results23 studies met the inclusion criteria for the review. The methodological quality overall was moderate. 17 studies reported positive associations with adherence, only four of which employed intervention designs. 10 studies examined the association between clinician-patient alliance and adherence. Subjective ratings of clinical communication styles and messages were assessed in 12 studies. 1 study examined the association between objectively rated communication and adherence. Meta-analysis was not possible due to heterogeneity of methods. Findings were presented as a narrative synthesis.
conclusionsClinician-patient alliance and communication are associated with more favourable patient adherence. Further research of observer rated communication would better facilitate the application of findings in clinical practice. Establishing agreement on the tasks of treatment, utilising collaborative styles of communication and discussion of treatment specifics may be important for clinicians in promoting cooperation with regimens. These findings align with those in health communication. However, the benefits of shared decision making for adherence in mental health are less conclusive than in general medicine.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.