Charismatic and non-charismatic physician counselling and its effects on the patient's motivation

Abstract

Background: It is relatively difficult to motivate patients to change their lifestyle - whether preventative or as a part of a treatment. We examined whether a physician who uses Charismatic Leadership Tactics (CLTs, which are stories, moral conviction, sentiments of the collective, lists, rhetorical questions and metaphors) could be more motivating than a physician who doesn't. Methods: 42 pregnant women rated two audio records with the physician's recommendations for water intake during pregnancy. Records contained the same facts, approx. the same tempo of speech and intonation, but one contained the CLTs and the second not. Women rated the extent to which the physician aroused their interest; would persuade them to live healthier; motivated them to take action; inspired them to do more than before; increased their willingness to achieve the goal and increase their belief that the goal is achievable. Findings: Pregnant women consider recommendations with CLTs as more positive in all questions than recommendations without CLTs (t(41)=3.432; p=0.001). Discussion: Women were more willing to follow physician's recommendations if they contained CLTs. Most women would be more motivated, if the physician share her/his own experiences with them, especially if it is a physician whom they already trust. This work was supported by the Slovak Research and Development Agency under the contract No. APVV-0361-12