Medical Students'Attitude Towards Doctor-Patient Relationship at HITEC Institute of Medical Sciences Taxila: ACross-Sectional Study: Medical Students & Doctor-Patient Care

Anwar Bibi; Raima Siddiqui; Aashi Mughal; Mohsin Raza; Bilal Arshad; Asifa Afzal

doi:10.70384/jlmdc.v3i01.107

Authors

Anwar Bibi Department of Community Medicine, HITEC-Institute of Medical Sciences, Taxila
Raima Siddiqui Department of Community Medicine, HITEC-Institute of Medical Sciences, Taxila
Aashi Mughal Department of Community Medicine, HITEC-Institute of Medical Sciences, Taxila
Mohsin Raza Department of Community Medicine, HITEC-Institute of Medical Sciences, Taxila
Bilal Arshad Medical Student, HITEC-Institute of Medical Sciences, Taxila
Asifa Afzal Department of Community Medicine, HITEC-Institute of Medical Sciences, Taxila

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.70384/jlmdc.v3i01.107

Keywords:

Patient care, Attitude, Medical students

Abstract

Background: The doctor-patient relationship is fundamental to healthcare delivery, emphasizing communication, trust, and mutual respect.

Objective: To evaluate the attitudes of medical students at HITEC-Institute of Medical Sciences (HITECIMS), Taxila towards doctor-centered versus patient-centered care and to determine the association of attitude with age, gender, year of study, residential status, and parental occupation related to the medical field.

Methodology: This cross-sectional study was conducted over a six-month period after approval from the institutional review board and included 218 medical students. Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS) was used to assess participants' attitude. SPSS version 28 was used for data analysis. PPOS scores were calculated to determine students' orientation towards patient-centered or doctor-centered care. Chi-square test was used to determine association of attitude with demographic factors.

Results: The total number of students that returned the questionnaire was 186, making a response rate of 85.3%. The mean age was 22 ± 1.95 years; 45.7% were female and 54.3% male. Most students resided in urban areas (86%). The overall mean PPOS score was 3.5 ± 0.6, indicating a patient-centered attitude in 71.5% of students. Chi-square tests revealed significant differences in attitudes based on age (p-value = 0.014) and gender (p-value = 0.019), with younger students and female students demonstrating a stronger patient-centered orientation.

Conclusion: Most students at HITEC-IMS Taxila exhibited a patient-centered attitude, with higher scores among younger students and females. These findings highlight the need for educational strategies to enhance patient-centered care through communication skills training and empathy development throughout the curriculum.

References

1. Hullur HM, Dandekar AA, Raje SS. Doctor-patient interactions with respect to type of practice. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2020;7(2):537-541.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20200435

2. Lupu VV, Miron I, Ciubara A, Lupu V, Starcea IM, Buga AM, et al. Doctor-patient (adult or child) relationship in contemporary medicine. Arch Euromedica. 2023;12.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.35630/2022/12/psy.ro.1

3. World Health Organization. WHO global strategy on people-centered and integrated health services. Geneva: World Health Organization; 2015. Available from: https://www.who.int/servicedeliverysafety/areas/peoplecentred-care/global-strategy/en/ (Accessed: 24/07/2025)

4. Moezzi M, Rasekh S, Zare E, Karimi M. Evaluating clinical communication skills of medical students, assistants, and professors. BMC Med Educ. 2024;24(1):19.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-05015-4

5. Zeng J, Gao Y, Hou C, Liu T. The impact of doctor-patient communication on medication adherence and blood pressure control in patients with hypertension: a systematic review. PeerJ. 2024;12:e18527.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.18527

6. Chen H, Xuan H, Cai J, Liu M, Shi L. The impact of empathy on medical students: an integrative review. BMC Med Educ. 2024;24(1):455.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-024-05448-5

7. Hammerich K, Stuber K, Hogg-Johnson S, Abbas A, Harris M, Lauridsen HH, et al. Assessing attitudes of patient-centred care among students in international chiropractic educational programs: A cross-sectional survey. Chiropr Man Therap. 2019;27(1):46.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12998-019-0263-x

8. Jeffrey NM. Medical education in palliative care in Brazil: Perception of medical school teachers. New Trends Qual Res. 2022;12.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.36367/ntqr.12.2022.e610

9. Fothan A, Eshaq AM, Bakather AM. Medical students’ perceptions of the doctor-patient relationship: A cross-sectional study from Saudi Arabia. Cureus. 2019;11(7):e5053.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.5053

10. Gandhi PA, Balasubramanian T, Doley P, Pardeshi G. Assessment of the attitude toward doctor-patient relationship among students of a medical college in New Delhi: A cross-sectional study. J Res Med Educ Ethics. 2019;9(1):13-30.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.5958/2231-6728.2019.00004.0

11. Ahmad W, Krupat E, Asma Y, Noor-E-Fatima, Attique R, Mahmood U, et al. Attitudes of medical students in Lahore, Pakistan towards the doctor-patient relationship. PeerJ. 2015;3:e1050.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.1050

12. El-Sherbiny NA, Ibrahim EH, Sayed N. Medical students’ attitudes towards patient-centered care, Fayoum Medical School, Egypt. Alexandria J Med. 2021;57(1):188-193.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1080/20905068.2021.1936420

13. Pereira CMAS, Amaral CFS, Ribeiro MMF, Paro HBMS, Pinto RMC, Reis LET, et al. Cross-cultural validation of the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS). Patient Educ Couns. 2013;91(1):37-43.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2012.11.014

14. Jiang Y, Wei J, Shi L, Cao J, Zhu B, Hong X. A 4-factor perspective of the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS): a deeper understanding of patient-centredness. BMC Med Educ. 2022;22(1):818.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-022-03867-w

15. Haiba AM, Haiba MM. Attitudes of medical students in Khartoum, Sudan towards the doctor-patient relationship: A cross-sectional study. PeerJ. 2023;11:e15434.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.15434

16. Ardenghi S, Russo S, Rampoldi G, Bani M, Strepparava MG. Medical students’ attitude toward patient-centeredness: A longitudinal study. Patient Educ Couns. 2024;118:108003.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2023.108003

17. Hamayal M, Iftikhar I, Tahir MD, Nadeem MB, Shahid W, Hussain A. Assessing the attitudes and knowledge of medical students towards patient-centred care across different study years: A cross-sectional study. J Pak Med Assoc. 2024;74(8):1570-1574.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA.10992

18. Mohamed KG, Almarabheh A, Haiba AM, Khalid L, Emad S, Alosaimi A, Shehata MH, Atwa H. Assessing patient-centeredness among medical students in Bahrain: the Arabic translation and validation of the Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS). BMC Med Educ. 2025;25(1):1737.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-025-08304-2

19. Iqbal MZ, Al Buraikan AR, Al Qarni AA, Al Qahtani HA, Al Ohail AM, Al Musaileem MM. Measuring empathy in medical students: A cross-sectional study. J Pak Med Assoc. 2022;72(6):1101-1105.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.47391/JPMA.3226

20. Lwow M, Canetti L, Muszkat M. Gender differences in the effect of medical humanities program on medical students' empathy: a prospective longitudinal study. BMC Med Educ. 2020;20(1):413.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-020-02333-9

21. Hardeman RR, Burgess D, Phelan S, Yeazel M, Nelson D, van Ryn M. Medical student sociodemographic characteristics and attitudes toward patient-centered care: do race, socioeconomic status and gender matter? Patient Educ Couns. 2015;98(3):350-355.

Doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2014.11.013