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Objective: To investigate how patients evaluate the provision of patient-centered care (PCC) by healthcare professionals and psychometrically test a questionnaire to assess it. A tool previously developed for self-assessment of professionals' provision of PCC was adapted into a patient-rated form, named Patient-Professional Interaction Questionnaire (PPIQ)., Methods: A sample of 1139 patients from six hospitals completed the 16-item PPIQ and the questionnaire structure, reliability, susceptibility to social desirability, and associations with other variables were tested., Results: The PPIQ confirmed the original four-factor structure (effective communication, interest in the patient's agenda, empathy, and patient involvement in care) and showed acceptable reliability and measurement invariance across both in-/out-patients and first/non-first encounter with the evaluated professional. Associations with patients' social desirability were negligible and effective communication was rated the highest among the PPIQ dimensions. PPIQ scores varied according to patients' educational level and type of professional evaluated, while associations between first/non-first encounter and PPIQ scores varied according to in-/out-patient., Conclusion: The PPIQ is a psychometrically sound patient-rated measure of the provision of PCC by healthcare professionals., Practice Implications: The PPIQ has potential value in promoting quality patient-professional interactions in the hospital setting, as patients' reported experience is an important dimension of the clinician's performance., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aimed to investigate whether healthcare professionals' emotional intelligence (EI) is associated with self-perceived provision of patient-centered care (PCC), taking into account the potential mediating effect of general self-efficacy (GSE)., Methods: A sample of 318 healthcare professionals, recruited in 2015 among four hospitals in Italy, completed the Provider-Patient Relationship Questionnaire, the Emotional Intelligence Scale, and the General Self-Efficacy scale. A structural equation model was tested with GSE mediating the relationship between EI and self-perceived provision of PCC. Groups of participants based on gender, profession, and work setting were also compared on the study variables., Results: EI had direct effects on the self-perceived provision of PCC dimensions. GSE partially mediated only the relationship between EI and involving the patient in care. Healthcare professionals in rehabilitation units showed higher self-perceived provision of PCC than those in acute care or ambulatory services., Conclusion: Self-perceived provision of PCC seems to have the potential to be improved by EI and to be distinguishable from GSE., Practice Implications: Since EI can be developed, findings of this study have potential implications for improving PCC through continuing education interventions for healthcare professionals., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: This study aimed to investigate how healthcare personnel self-evaluate their ability to relate to patients in day-to-day practice from a patient-centered perspective, and to test the psychometric properties of a questionnaire developed to assess it., Methods: A sample of 600 healthcare personnel, recruited among eight hospitals in various parts of Italy, completed the 16-item Provider-Patient Relationship Questionnaire (PPRQ). A sample of 50 nurses answered the PPRQ twice, at a four-week interval. The PPRQ validity, reliability and susceptibility to social desirability were tested., Results: PPRQ showed good reliability and structural validity, with four first-order factors: effective communication, interest in the patient's agenda, empathy, and patient involvement in care. Correlation with social desirability was negligible. Participants rated themselves as highly competent in communicating with patients, but less interested in involving the patient in care and in the patient's agenda. Differences in PPRQ dimensions were found between groups based on job type and geographic area., Conclusion: PPRQ is a brief self-report measure of the provider-patient relationship with promising psychometric properties in this sample., Practice Implications: PPRQ has potential value in promoting a self-reflecting learning environment, whether through training or day-to-day practice., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: All healthcare workers' communication skills are recognised as valuable indicators of quality of care from the patient's perspective. Most of the studies measure doctor-patient communication, giving scarce attention to other professionals. This study is aimed at developing and providing preliminary validation of a questionnaire to measure outpatients' experience of communication with hospital personnel other than doctors., Methods: Small groups of outpatients and hospital staffs were involved in identifying the domains and generating the items. A quantitative validation phase involving 401 outpatients followed in order to verify the hypothesised dimensionality of selected items and to measure reliability., Results: A 13-item questionnaire emerged, comprising four components of outpatients' experience in the healthcare communication domain: problem solving, respect, lack of hostility, and nonverbal immediacy. Psychometric tests were promising as regards factorial validity, evaluated with confirmatory factor analysis, and scales reliability. Factor scores were independent of patients' gender, age, and education., Conclusion: The developed Health Care Communication Questionnaire (HCCQ) is a self-administered brief measure with good psychometric properties., Practice Implications: The HCCQ gives information that could be taken as an indirect and subjective indicator of the quality of hospital services as provided by non-medical staff. This aspect may have a role in local quality improvement initiatives.