A hierarchical communication model of the antecedents of health care professionals' support for donations after cardiac death

Using structural equation modeling, the direct and indirect impact of five variables on the support of donation after cardiac death from the perspective of health care professionals were investigated: knowledge, trust in the transplant team, whether patients are in a state of irreversibility, whether health care professionals participate in a patient's death, and perceptions about the brain death versus cardiac death donation process. In total, 10/15 relationships posited in the model had significant pathways. The results provide insight into sequential communication strategies for generating support for donations after cardiac death.

The role physicians play throughout the birthing process

The second of a series, this study examines the effect of physician service performance on women's perceptions of physician quality before, during, and after delivery. We also examine changing physician-patient relationships throughout the birthing experience and compare our findings to those reported in a previous study that focused on nurse-patient relationships. Our findings show that physicians can have a profound impact on patient quality assessments and that these perceptions are prone to change as patients progress through the three birthing stages.

Relationships building. Measure service quality across health care encounters

The relationships between service quality and satisfaction is a function of multiple service encounters across a wide variety of exchange partners within a health care organization. Studying the patient provider relationship leads to improved service quality. The authors report their findings from a study that tests a relationship-building framework that integrates service quality issues across multiple internal health care publics. Strategies for developing a strong patient-provider relationship bond are also discussed.