When the world is closing in: effects of perceived room brightness and communicated threat during patient-physician interaction.

Objective: The study proposes that room brightness creates impressions of a more spacious environment and that this perception positively impacts feelings and behaviors during high-threat conversations in particular.

Background: To a large extent healthcare providers depend on their patients' willingness to disclose information. In addition to characteristics related to the physician and topic of conversation, research indicates that environmental factors influence patients' affective experiences and self-disclosure.

Exploring space in the consultation room: environmental influences during patient-physician interaction.

Patients' disclosure of personal information is a key factor in health communication. Research shows that the environment can affect self-disclosure. The 2 studies reported in this article set out to examine the effects of the perceived spaciousness of a consultation room on patient readiness to communicate personal information to his or her physician.

Determinants of perceived severity of hypertension and drug-compliance in hypertensive patients.

Background: Severity of illness is not an important determinant of drug-compliance. In this paper we hypothesize that the perceived severity of illness rather than the true severity of illness is a determinant of drug-compliance. If this is true, then it will be worthwhile for physicians to look for factors determining this perceived severity of illness.