Exploring Space in the Consultation Room: Environmental Influences during Patient-Physician Interaction

Patients' disclosure of personal information is a key factor in health communication. Research shows that the environment can affect self-disclosure. The 2 studies reported in this article set out to examine the effects of the perceived spaciousness of a consultation room on patient readiness t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of health communication 2012-04, Vol.17 (4), p.397-412
Main Authors: Okken, Vanessa, van Rompay, Thomas, Pruyn, Ad
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Affectivity
Biological and medical sciences
Communication
Disclosure
Doctor-patient relationship
Environment
Female
Health
Health technology assessment
Humans
Information
Interactionism
Interior Design and Furnishings
Interpersonal communication
Male
Medical sciences
Middle Aged
Miscellaneous
Netherlands
Patients
Personal information
Physician-Patient Relations
Physicians
Physicians' Offices
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Self Disclosure
Sex Factors
Space
Studies
Young Adult
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Summary:Patients' disclosure of personal information is a key factor in health communication. Research shows that the environment can affect self-disclosure. The 2 studies reported in this article set out to examine the effects of the perceived spaciousness of a consultation room on patient readiness to communicate personal information to his or her physician. To influence perceived spaciousness, desk size and room size were manipulated. Results from both studies show that an increase in room size in particular positively influences perceived comfort and intended self-disclosure. However, the affective valence of the conversation was found to influence this relation, indicating that people prefer a smaller interpersonal distance when the conversation is positively framed and room size is large. Furthermore, findings show that spaciousness effects on self-disclosure are qualified by patient characteristics.
ISSN:1081-0730
1087-0415
DOI:10.1080/10810730.2011.626498