Doctor – patient relationship models in health communication and a research to determine assessments of relationship partners

Health communication is a communication discipline that aims to inform the public about diseases and preventive measures and regulates the relationship between the doctor and the patient and the relations between the healthcare workers and the patients. Developing and maintaining a doctor - patient relationship for the achievement and protection of health, which is one of the main aims of health communication, has become an important issue. There are many models that show that the doctor - patient relationship occurs in a certain order. This study was planned to determine the opinions of the physicians and the patients on the relationship models and what model they preferred. Meanwhile, the aim of this study is to reveal the preferences and opinions of physicians and patients about the models. The questionnaires prepared according to the Likert scale based on Emanuel and Emanuel's physician-patient relationship model which are thought to be the most current and comprehensive models were applied to 400 patients admitted to the Department of Chest Diseases and Department of Internal Medicine of the Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, and 100 physicians who work in these departments who have all agreed to participate. According to the results of this research; it was determined that the gender, education level and occupational groups of the patients caused differentiation in their opinions and preferences about their relationships with doctors, and that the doctors' professional experience period differentiated their opinions and preferences in their relationships with patients. In the light of the findings of the research, it was found that both sides of the doctor - patient relationship exchanged ideas, approached each other in respect of their opinions and preferred more of the negotiating model based on the idea of making a joint decision.