Patient-Centered Care: Strengthening Trust and Communication in Health Relationships

In rapidly evolving healthcare, the relationship between patients and healthcare providers has become increasingly dynamic. At the center of this developing relationship are the concepts of trust, effective communication, shared decision-making, continuity of care and empathy. Each of these elements plays an important role in helping patients feel supported, understood, and actively involved in their own care.

This Research Topic aims to explore factors affecting healthcare provider-patient communication, highlight best practices, identify gaps, and propose innovative solutions to improve the patient-health professional relationship. We aim to collect comprehensive information on how these factors contribute to better health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and overall quality of care. We are particularly interested in contributions that investigate:

• Trust in Health Services: Factors that build or erode trust between patients and healthcare providers, including studies on institutional trust, transparency, and the impact of digital health technologies.

• Professional-Patient Communication: Communication strategies that improve understanding, patient satisfaction, patient participation in treatment plans including verbal and nonverbal communication, cultural competency, digital communication, and use of health literacy tools.

• Shared Decision Making: methodologies and frameworks that facilitate shared decision-making processes and ensure that patients’ values ​​and preferences are respected in shared care plans.

• Continuity of Care: the importance of continuous, coordinated care and its impact on patient outcomes, including the role of primary care teams, care transitions, and long-term patient-provider relationships.

• Empathy in Healthcare: The role of empathy in clinical practice, its impact on patient care experiences, and strategies to improve empathy among healthcare providers.

• Partnership with Patients: and the role of patients as partners in their own care, including the co-design of healthcare, patient-led research initiatives, and the influence of patient advisory councils.

• Communication Technology: the impact of new technologies on communication strategies and trust in healthcare providers and systems, including technological literacy and comfort levels and data privacy concerns.

We welcome applications from researchers, clinicians, patient advocates, and health policy experts who are committed to promoting a more patient-centered approach to healthcare. All article types welcome.

Keywords: patient-centered care, trust, communication, health outcomes, decision-making, continuity, empathy, patient partners, telemedicine, patient engagement

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the department and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to refer an out-of-scope manuscript to a more appropriate section or journal at any stage of peer review.

In rapidly evolving healthcare, the relationship between patients and healthcare providers has become increasingly dynamic. At the center of this developing relationship are the concepts of trust, effective communication, shared decision-making, continuity of care and empathy. Each of these elements plays an important role in helping patients feel supported, understood, and actively involved in their own care.

This Research Topic aims to explore factors affecting healthcare provider-patient communication, highlight best practices, identify gaps, and propose innovative solutions to improve the patient-health professional relationship. We aim to collect comprehensive information on how these factors contribute to better health outcomes, patient satisfaction, and overall quality of care. We are particularly interested in contributions that investigate:

• Trust in Health Services: Factors that build or erode trust between patients and healthcare providers, including studies on institutional trust, transparency, and the impact of digital health technologies.

• Professional-Patient Communication: Communication strategies that improve understanding, patient satisfaction, patient participation in treatment plans including verbal and nonverbal communication, cultural competency, digital communication, and use of health literacy tools.

• Shared Decision Making: methodologies and frameworks that facilitate shared decision-making processes and ensure that patients’ values ​​and preferences are respected in shared care plans.

• Continuity of Care: the importance of continuous, coordinated care and its impact on patient outcomes, including the role of primary care teams, care transitions, and long-term patient-provider relationships.

• Empathy in Healthcare: The role of empathy in clinical practice, its impact on patient care experiences, and strategies to improve empathy among healthcare providers.

• Partnership with Patients: and the role of patients as partners in their own care, including the co-design of healthcare, patient-led research initiatives, and the influence of patient advisory councils.

• Communication Technology: the impact of new technologies on communication strategies and trust in healthcare providers and systems, including technological literacy and comfort levels and data privacy concerns.

We welcome applications from researchers, clinicians, patient advocates, and health policy experts who are committed to promoting a more patient-centered approach to healthcare. All article types welcome.

Keywords: patient-centered care, trust, communication, health outcomes, decision-making, continuity, empathy, patient partners, telemedicine, patient engagement

Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the department and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to refer an out-of-scope manuscript to a more appropriate section or journal at any stage of peer review.