Trial reportBMC family practice2013
Effect of facemasks on empathy and relational continuity: a randomised controlled trial in primary care.
Trial report in BMC family practice, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 71 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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
71 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Downsides of face masks and possible mitigation strategies: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ open · 2021Pooled it
- The impact of briefly observing faces in opaque facial masks on emotion recognition and empathic concern.Quarterly journal of experimental psychology (2006) · 2023Trial
- COVID-19 era: Hearing handicaps behind face mask use in hearing aid users.The journal of international advanced otology · 2022Trial
- Effect of physician attire on patient perceptions of empathy in Japan: a quasi-randomized controlled trial in primary care.BMC family practice · 2021Trial
- Incomplete Faces Do but Masked Faces Do Not Affect Mind Perception.Psychological reports · 2026Article
- Hurdles and solutions of communication in clinical practice amidst the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study among Sri Lankan medical students.BMC research notes · 2026Article
- Risks and benefits of face masks in children.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Review
- Article
- Impact of face masks on empathy and communication in head and neck cancer patients: a case-control study.Frontiers in oncology · 2025Article
- Experiences and Impact of Face Masks Use on Patient Communication Among Portuguese Nursing Students During Clinical Practice in Hospital Setting: A Qualitative Descriptive Study.Journal of nursing management · 2025Article
- Smiling doctor, satisfied patient-the impact of facial expressions on doctor-patient interactions.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Article
- Inferring social signals from the eyes in male schizophrenia.Schizophrenia (Heidelberg, Germany) · 2024Article
- Pattern and Perception of Impact of Wearing Face Masks on Communication Among Health Care Workers During COVID-19 pandemic: An Observational Study.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2024Article
- Masking for COVID-19 and other respiratory viral infections: implications of the available evidence.Antimicrobial stewardship & healthcare epidemiology : ASHE · 2024Article
- Protection, freedom, stigma: a critical discourse analysis of face masks in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic and implications for medical education.Canadian medical education journal · 2023Article
- Patients and general practitioners agree that wearing masks during consultations complicates physician--patient relationships: An exploratory, qualitative study.The European journal of general practice · 2023Article
- Knowledge, beliefs, and practices related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection and vaccination in healthcare personnel working at nonacute care facilities.Infection control and hospital epidemiology · 2023Article
- Advantages and disadvantages of maintaining the mandatory use of masks in health centers and nursing homes in Spain. How and when is it justified to maintain it?Revista espanola de quimioterapia : publicacion oficial de la Sociedad Espanola de Quimioterapia · 2023Review
- Impact of Facemasks Use on Interpersonal Communication in a Clinical Setup: A Questionnaire Based Study.Indian journal of otolaryngology and head and neck surgery : official publication of the Association of Otolaryngologists of India · 2023Article
- The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Management of Mental Health Services for Hospitalized Patients in Sibiu County-Central Region, Romania.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
11 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
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThere is limited evidence to support the use of facemasks in preventing infection for primary care professionals. Negative effects on communication has been suggested when the physician wears a facemask. As communication skills and doctor patient relationship are essential to primary care consultations, the effects of doctor's facemask wearing were explored.
methodA randomised controlled study was conducted in primary care to explore the effects of doctors wearing facemasks on patients' perception of doctors' empathy, patient enablement and patient satisfaction. Primary care doctors were randomized to mask wearing and non mask wearing clinical consultations in public primary care clinics in Hong Kong. Patients' views were gathered using the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) Measure, Patient Enablement Instrument (PEI) and an overall satisfaction rating scale. The effects of face mask wearing were investigated using multilevel (hierarchical) modelling.
results1,030 patients were randomised to doctor-mask wearing consultations (n = 514) and non mask wearing consultations (n = 516). A significant and negative effect was found in the patients' perception of the doctors' empathy (CARE score reduction -0.98, p-value = 0.04). In the more established doctor-patient relationship, the effect of doctors' mask wearing was more pronounced (CARE score reduction -5.67, p-value = 0.03).
conclusionThis study demonstrates that when doctors wearing a facemask during consultations, this has a significant negative impact on the patient's perceived empathy and diminish the positive effects of relational continuity. Consideration should be taken in planning appropriate use of facemasks in infectious disease policy for primary care and other healthcare professionals at a national, local or practice level. CLINICAL
trial registrationThis trial was registered on Chinese Clinical Trial Register (ChiCTR). Registration no.: ChiCTR-TTRCC-12002519. URL: http://www.chictr.org/en/proj/show.aspx?proj=3486. Due to administrative error, registration of trial did not take place until after the trial started on 1st August 2011 and registration number was released on 21st September 2012.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.