ArticleBreast cancer research and treatment2015
All eyes on the patient: the influence of oncologists' nonverbal communication on breast cancer patients' trust.
Article in Breast cancer research and treatment, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 22 papers.
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
22 citing papers in PubMed.
- Am I Keeping You from Something Important?Journal of general internal medicine · 2026Article
- Development of GROVE: A Guideline for RepOrting Vignette Experiments conducted in a healthcare context.Patient education and counseling · 2025Article
- Visualizing Empathy in Patient-Practitioner Interactions Using Eye-Tracking Technology: Proof-of-Concept Study.JMIR formative research · 2024Article
- Radiologists' Communicative Role in Breast Cancer Patient Management: Beyond Diagnosis.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Review
- Robotic Care Equipment Improves Communication between Care Recipient and Caregiver in a Nursing Home as Revealed by Gaze Analysis: A Case Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Attachment styles and healthcare utilization: exploring the role of the patient-doctor relationship.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Creating and administering video vignettes for a study examining the communication of diagnostic uncertainty: methodological insights to improve accessibility for researchers and participants.BMC medical research methodology · 2023Article
- Nasal oxytocin administration does not influence eye gaze or perceived relationship of male volunteers with physicians in a simulated online consultation: a randomized, placebo-controlled trial.Endocrine connections · 2023Article
- Communication in the context of glioblastoma treatment: A qualitative study of what matters most to patients, caregivers and health care professionals.Palliative medicine · 2023Article
- Improving Surgical Excellence: Can Coaching Surgeons Improve Patient Engagement?World journal of surgery · 2023Article
- Possible alleviation of symptoms and side effects through clinicians' nocebo information and empathy in an experimental video vignette study.Scientific reports · 2022Article
- The Influence of Face Gaze by Physicians on Patient Trust: an Observational Study.Journal of general internal medicine · 2022Observational
- The Influence of Stereotypes on Trust in Doctors from Patients' Perspective: The Mediating Role of Communication.Psychology research and behavior management · 2022Article
- Patient Satisfaction With the Head and Neck Cancer Telephone Triage Service During the COVID-19 Pandemic.Cureus · 2021Article
- Factors Associated With Parental Participation in Family-Centered Rounds.Hospital pediatrics · 2021Article
- Is There a Relationship between Shared Decision Making and Breast Cancer Patients' Trust in Their Medical Oncologists?Medical decision making : an international journal of the Society for Medical Decision Making · 2020Observational
- Trust and Perceptions of Physicians' Nonverbal Behavior Among Women with Immigrant Backgrounds.Journal of immigrant and minority health · 2018Article
- Patients' Trust in Physician, Patient Enablement, and Health-Related Quality of Life During Colon Cancer Treatment.Journal of cancer education : the official journal of the American Association for Cancer Education · 2017Article
- Attachment figures when death is approaching: a study applying attachment theory to adult patients' and family members' experiences during palliative home care.Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2017Article
- Development and validation of an abbreviated version of the Trust in Oncologist Scale-the Trust in Oncologist Scale-short form (TiOS-SF).Supportive care in cancer : official journal of the Multinational Association of Supportive Care in Cancer · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Trust in the oncologist is crucial for breast cancer patients. It reduces worry, enhances decision making, and stimulates adherence. Optimal nonverbal communication by the oncologist, particularly eye contact, body posture, and smiling, presumably benefits patients' trust. We were the first to experimentally examine (1) how the oncologist's nonverbal behavior influences trust, and (2) individual differences in breast cancer patients' trust. Analogue patients (APs) viewed one out of eight versions of a video vignette displaying a consultation about chemotherapy treatment. All eight versions varied only in the oncologist's amount of eye contact (consistent vs. inconsistent), body posture (forward leaning vs. varying), and smiling (occasional smiling vs. no smiling). Primary outcome was trust in the observed oncologist (Trust in Oncologist Scale). 214 APs participated. Consistent eye contact led to stronger trust (β = -.13, p = .04). This effect was largely explained by lower educated patients, for whom the effect of consistent eye contact was stronger than for higher educated patients (β = .18, p = .01). A forward leaning body posture did not influence trust, nor did smiling. However, if the oncologist smiled more, he was perceived as more friendly (rs = .31, p < .001) and caring (rs = .18, p = .01). Older (β = .17, p = .01) and lower educated APs (β = -.25, p < .001) were more trusting. Trust was weaker for more avoidantly attached APs (β = -.16, p = .03). We experimentally demonstrated the importance of maintaining consistent eye contact for breast cancer patients' trust, especially among lower educated patients. These findings need to be translated into training for oncologists in how to optimize their nonverbal communication with breast cancer patients while simultaneously managing increased time pressure and computer use during the consultation.
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.