The impact of communication skills training on patient-centered attitude and patient satisfaction: A longitudinal study of Egyptian physicians.

Objective: Patient-centered care (PCC) provides recognized global benefits but remains underexplored in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, particularly in Egypt. This study assesses the impact of communication skills training on doctor-patient relationships, patient-centered attitudes, and patient satisfaction in healthcare centers across Giza governorate.

Methods: From November 2022 to January 2024, a multi-center longitudinal study was carried out in healthcare centers across the Giza governorate in Egypt, involving 102 physicians and 257 patients. The physicians completed a two-day training program titled "Effective Communication Skills Training," based on the principles of patient-centered care. To assess outcomes, the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS) was used to measure physicians' attitudes before and after the training, while the Patient-Doctor Relationship Questionnaire (PDRQ-9) evaluated patient satisfaction.

Results: Pre- and post-training PPOS scores exhibited a slight increase (mean difference = 0.06), with significant improvements for participants with pre-training scores ≤3 ( < 0.001). No overall significant difference was noted between pre- and post-training scores. In the sharing subdomain, surgical specialty and pre-training sharing scores were significant predictors of PPOS improvement. Patient satisfaction scores rose post-training, with a mean score of 4.44 ± 1 compared to 4.22 ± 0.67 pre-training ( = 0.001).

Conclusion: The study demonstrates that communication skills training based on the PCC model effectively enhances PCC and patient satisfaction among physicians, indicating that targeted training can address PCC knowledge gaps and improve patient care.