UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

Do photographic images of pain improve communication in the pain consultation?

Padfield, D; Zakrzewska, JM; Williams, A C de C; (2015) Do photographic images of pain improve communication in the pain consultation? Pain Research & Management , 20 (3) 123- 128. Green open access

[thumbnail of Pain_20_3_MayJun2015_indb_-_16626_padf.pdf] PDF
Pain_20_3_MayJun2015_indb_-_16626_padf.pdf

Download (884kB)

Abstract

Background: Visual images may facilitate communication of pain in consultations. Objectives: In order to test whether photographic images of pain enrich the content and/or process of pain consultation, we compared patients’ and clinicians’ ratings of the consultation experience. Methods Photographic images of pain previously co-created by patients with a photographer were provided to new patients attending pain clinic consultations. Seventeen patients selected and used images that best expressed their pain and were compared with 21 not offered images. Ten clinicians conducted assessments in each condition. After consultation patients and clinicians completed ratings of aspects of communication and, where images were used, how they influenced the consultation. Results: The majority of both patients and clinicians reported that images enhanced the consultation. Ratings of communication were generally high, with no differences between those with and without images (except for confidence in treatment plan which was rated more highly in the image group). However, only in consultations with images, patients’ and clinicians’ ratings of communication were inversely related. Methodological shortcomings may underlie our findings of no difference. It is also possible that using images raised patients’ and clinicians’ expectations and encouraged emotional disclosure in response to which clinicians were dissatisfied with their performance. Conclusions: Using images in clinical encounters does not have negative impacts on the consultation but did not improve communication or satisfaction. Findings will inform analysis of behaviour in the video-recorded consultations.

Type: Article
Title: Do photographic images of pain improve communication in the pain consultation?
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
Publisher version: http://www.pulsus.com/journals/journalHome.jsp?sCu...
Language: English
Additional information: This article is published under the Creative Commons License Attribution Non Commercial CC BY-NC. You are free to share (copy and redistribute in any medium) and adapt (remix, transform and build upon) as long as you do not use the material for commercial purposes, give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license and indicate whether changes were made.
Keywords: Doctor-patient interaction, emotion, narrative, art
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences > Clinical, Edu and Hlth Psychology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Medical Sciences > Eastman Dental Institute
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of Arts and Humanities > The Slade School of Fine Art
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1461249
Downloads since deposit
94Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item