Evidence map›Paper›PMID 28291576›Full record

ArticlePatient education and counseling2017

Evaluating challenges for improving medically unexplained symptoms in US military veterans via provider communication.

L Alison Phillips, Lisa McAndrew, Benjamin Laman-Maharg, Katharine Bloeser

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Patient education and counseling, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
11citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 19% of its field
1 · What the graph read from 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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 22 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
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  7. Article
  8. Review
  9. Understanding Veterans' Causal Attributions of Physical Symptoms.International journal of behavioral medicine · 2021
    Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

L Alison PhillipsDepartment of Psychology, Iowa State University, Ames, USA; War Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC), Veterans Affairs New Jersey Healthcare System, East Orange, USA. Electronic address: alisonp@iastate.edu.
Lisa McAndrewWar Related Illness and Injury Study Center (WRIISC), Veterans Affairs New Jersey Healthcare System, East Orange, USA; Department of Educational and Counseling Psychology, University at Albany, Albany, USA.
Benjamin Laman-MahargDepartment of Psychology, The George Washington University, Washington, D.C., USA.
Katharine BloeserWar Related and Injury Study Center, US Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, D.C., USA; Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, CUNY, NY, USA.
George Washington University · USIowa State University · USUnited States Department of Veterans Affairs · USUniversity at Albany, State University of New York · US

Funding

Feasibility of At Home Telehealth Yoga for Treating Chronic PainR34AT010364 · NCCIH · PALO ALTO VETERANS INSTIT FOR RESEARCH · PI BAYLEY, PETER J. · 2019 to 2021
$962k
Problem-Solving Therapy for Gulf War IllnessIK2HX001369 · VA · VA NEW JERSEY HEALTH CARE SYSTEM · PI MCANDREW, LISA MARIE · 2018 to 2019
–
HSRD VA CDA 13-017HSRD VA I01 HX001678HSRD VA IK2 HX001369NCCIH NIH HHS R34 AT010364
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesMedically unexplained symptoms (MUS) are common, with particularly high rates observed in military veterans. Effective patient-provider-communication is thought to be a key aspect of care; however there have been few empirical studies on the association between communication and outcomes for patients with MUS. We evaluate whether discussing veterans' MUS-illness representations and good interpersonal skills have the potential to promote MUS-treatment adherence and improvement.

methodsVeterans experiencing MUS (n=204) reported on their primary care providers' communication about illness representations and interpersonal skills; correlation, regression, and bootstrap-mediation analyses were conducted to test hypotheses regarding veteran-reported outcomes. Main outcomes included satisfaction with the provider, MUS-treatment adherence, intentions to adhere, and expectations for MUS improvement.

resultsVeterans reported infrequent discussion of MUS illness representations but high degrees of provider interpersonal skills. Communication regarding patients' illness representations and treatment expectations was significantly related to treatment adherence and adherence intentions; provider interpersonal skills were not. Both were related to veteran satisfaction. CONCLUSIONS AND PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Providers' interpersonal skills may be important in chronic illness contexts, such as MUS, by contributing to satisfaction with the provider. The current study suggests that providers may better promote MUS-treatment adherence through discussing MUS illness representations and treatment expectations.

Indexed as

CommunicationMedically Unexplained SymptomsPatient SatisfactionPhysician-Patient RelationsPrimary Health CareVeteransAdultAgedAged, 80 and overFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedDoctor-patient communicationIllness and treatment representationsMedically unexplained symptomsPrimary careTreatment adherenceVeterans

Identifiers

PMID28291576
PMCPMC9014883
OpenAlexW2593434175

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

None linked

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.