Humanizing medicine: a patient perspective

The purpose of this research was to explore patients' shared perceptions of what makes them feel valued and devalued during in-patient and out-patient medical visits and patients' recommendations for increasing feelings of value. A criterion-based snowball sampling method was used to recruit participants who are adults living in Anchorage, Alaska, and have had an in-patient or out-patient medical visit within at least the past year. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted using eight open-ended questions via Zoom web conferencing. Data were stored and managed electronically. A thematic analysis approach guided data analysis. A phenomenological approach was applied to capture participants' shared experiences. This study's key findings highlight a shared patient perception that communication is paramount in conveying value: conversations with healthcare providers instill value, feeling valued is essential to well-being, feeling devalued is driven by depersonalization, and devaluation perpetuates discontinuity in healthcare.