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The Physician–Patient Working Alliance in Hemodialysis Treatment

2016; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 43; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/08964289.2015.1122569

1940-4026

Jairo N. Fuertes, Sofia Rubinstein, Mariela Reyes, Pichet Iampornpipopchai, Shanza Mujeeb, Carroll Smith, Arielle Toporovsky,

Health Systems, Economic Evaluations, Quality of Life

Over the past 20 years, the role of psychological and social factors, including the physician–patient working alliance, have emerged as integral components of medical care for patients with a myriad of health conditions. The current study examines a model comprised of psychological–interpersonal factors and the extent to which it explains patient satisfaction with and adherence to hemodialysis treatment. One hundred and seven adults with end-stage renal disease who were receiving regular outpatient hemodialysis participated in the study. Path analyses show that the physician–patient working alliance indirectly predicts patient adherence through patient satisfaction and patients' outcome expectations. The working alliance directly predicts patients' quality of life. It is concluded that consistent with previous research, the physician–patient working alliance is a significant factor in predicting key patient behaviors in medical care.