Socio-economic and Demographic Factors Influencing Interpersonal Communication Between Patients and Family Physicians: A Protocol for a Systematic Review

Abstract

ABSTRACTBackgroundInterpersonal communication is an essential aspect of patients’ relationships with their family physicians. It impacts patients’ experiences and the quality of care. Nevertheless, interpersonal communication can be affected by conscious and unconscious biases based on patients’ socio-economic and demographic characteristics. Evidence synthesis of this aspect of interpersonal communication in primary health care is limited. This systematic review will assess socio-economic and demographic factors influencing interpersonal communication between family physicians and patients living with one or more chronic conditions during clinical encounters.MethodsWe will perform a systematic review following the Joanna Briggs Institute Manual for Evidence Synthesis. The population of interest is adults living with at least one chronic condition. We will collect socioeconomic and demographic factors such as gender, sex, race or ethnicity, levels of literacy and/or health knowledge, level of education, and poverty or socioeconomic status, including employment or income level. Any published empirical study reporting aspects of interpersonal communication between patients and their family physicians will be considered. Three databases (Embase, MEDLINE, and Cochrane) will be assessed for eligible studies. Pairs of independent reviewers will select studies, extract data, and conduct bias assessment using MMAT-2018. We anticipate conducting descriptive and content analyses with narrative synthesis.DiscussionFindings from this review may guide better communication between primary care physicians and their patients and increase awareness of potential health inequalities pathways in clinical practice.Registration numberCRD42023411895 (PROSPERO platform).