580 California St., Suite 400
San Francisco, CA, 94104
Key research themes
1. How can mindfulness-based interventions reshape patient satisfaction and loyalty during healthcare waiting times?
This theme investigates the application of brief mindfulness interventions as psychological tools to mitigate the negative effects of prolonged waiting times on patient attitudes in healthcare settings. It addresses the challenge that long waits pose to perceived care quality, patient satisfaction, and loyalty, focusing on the underlying consumer behavior and psychological perception of time during healthcare service delivery.
The effect of brief mindfulness-based intervention on patient satisfaction and loyalty after waiting
Key finding: Four studies involving different populations (undergraduates, adults in doctor's offices, and online participants in the US and Brazil) demonstrated that even a 5-minute mindfulness-based intervention during waiting... Read more
2. What emotional labor strategies do service employees adopt, and how do these influence employee attitudes and patient interactions?
This theme explores the emotional regulation styles among customer service employees, particularly focusing on the interplay of naturally felt emotions, cognitive reappraisal, and emotional suppression. It examines how combinations of these strategies manifest as distinct emotion regulation styles with differential impacts on job satisfaction, organizational engagement, and motivation — factors that ultimately shape patient-employee interactions and patient attitudes.
Key finding: This study identified six emotion regulation styles among customer service employees, revealing that those using suppression-only or no regulation strategies exhibited lower job satisfaction and organizational commitment... Read more
3. How are cognitive abilities and cognitive effort linked to patience in decision-making under varying incentive structures?
This theme examines the cognitive underpinnings of patience, particularly how cognitive abilities correlate with individuals' willingness to delay gratification in incentivized versus hypothetical scenarios. It addresses how cognitive effort modulates this relationship, with implications for understanding patient decision-making and attitude formation in healthcare when balancing immediate and delayed health outcomes or treatments.
Key finding: The study found that the correlation between cognitive abilities (measured by a cognitive reflection test, numeracy, and self-reported math skills) and patient behavior was significantly weaker when choices involved actual... Read more
4. What are the spiritual and psychological effects of patience education on patient resilience and self-regulation?
This theme focuses on patience as a virtue in psychological and spiritual contexts, particularly within cultural frameworks such as Sufism. It investigates how cultivating patience through education enhances mental health by fostering self-control, self-esteem, self-recognition, and overall psychological resilience—factors strongly influencing patient coping strategies and attitudes in illness and treatment.
Key finding: This qualitative investigation in Sufi culture demonstrated that patience education strengthens an individual's capacity for self-control, self-esteem, and self-recognition, thereby improving mental health and resilience. By... Read more
5. How do patient perceptions of physician nonverbal behaviors shape patient satisfaction and engagement during consultations?
This theme examines patient attitudes towards key physician nonverbal communication modes—specifically eye contact and comforting touch—during clinical consultations. Understanding patient preferences and comfort with these behaviors is essential to improving doctor-patient rapport, trust, and overall satisfaction, key components of patient attitudes affecting adherence and healthcare outcomes.
Key finding: Survey results from a tertiary care hospital in Pakistan revealed most patients expected and appreciated physician eye contact and comforting touch, associating these behaviors with respect, care, and attentiveness. Notably,... Read more