Our hypothesis is practically relevant because understanding
significant patient-related predictors of communication
preferences would enable us to predict patients’ expectations.
If predictors were readily observable (ie, age, sex) or easy
to assess (ie, pain intensity, chronification), providers could
make an initial judgment as to a patient’s probable communication
preferences without much difficulty, and adapt their
communicative behavior accordingly. This would, however,
require that the predictors explain a substantial amount of
variance. Our hypothesis is also relevant to research on
patient-centeredness, because hypotheses regarding how preferences
are constructed can be derived from knowledge about
the predictors of patient communication preferences. The
development of patient preferences is an important research
field that may well attract more attention in the future