Primary Care Physicians’ Selection of Verbal Compliance-Gaining Strategies

Past research on physicians’ use of methods to increase patients’ compliance with directions seldom considers physicians’ use of verbal compliance-gaining strategies. This study explored primary care physicians’ reports of their compliance-gaining message strategy selection. The investigation found that physicians report use of expertise strategies more than other types of compliance-gaining strategies. Physicians also report that they exert more verbal effort to increase compliance by patients who have potentially severe illnesses and a history of noncompliance. Finally, in those situations in which the physician does not rely on expertise compliance-gaining strategies, the use of verbally aggressive strategies is more likely during initial interactions with patients rather than subsequent interactions. Implications for communication theory and the medical field are discussed.