Abstract:
Patient-centered communication (PCC) is a key indicator of healthcare quality and is critical to patient-centered care. Provider interacting eHealth behaviors (PIEB) help facilitate patient-centered care. This dissertation is comprised of three papers centered around PCC and PIEB. The three papers examined PCC and PIEB from three perspectives: (1) trends in PCC, (2) trends in PIEB and the association of PCC with PIEB, and (3) the association of PCC and PIEB with cancer screening. The three studies used nationally representative survey data from the Health Information National Trends Study (HINTS) administered by the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Findings from the three papers indicate PCC has increased over the past decade, is associated with PIEB, higher PCC is associated with increased odds of breast and colon cancer screening adherence, and higher PIEB is associated with increased odds of breast, cervical, and colon cancer screening adherence when controlling for PCC. In addition, disparities in PCC and PIEB continue to exist. PCC is differentially associated with breast and colon cancer screening based on race and ethnicity. PIEB is differentially associated with breast, cervical, and colon cancer screening by race and ethnicity. This research helps to inform the continued need for progress in PCC and PIEB including culturally and linguistically appropriate communication and eHealth tools in healthcare.
