Are Surgeons’ Tendencies to Avoid Discomfort Associated with Attitudes and Beliefs Toward Patient Psychosocial Factors?

Background: Orthopedic surgeons are sometimes hesitant to assess and address psychosocial factors. Surgeon-specific modifiable factors may contribute to surgeon attitudes and beliefs regarding the mental and social aspects of illness. A better understanding of these factors could help inform interventions to support surgeons and improve patient outcomes. We aimed to investigate whether orthopedic surgeons’ self-reported compassion, perceived stress, and experiential avoidance are independently associated with various surgeon attitudes and beliefs regarding psychosocial aspects of health. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of 165 members of the Science of Variation Group (SOVG). Surgeons completed measures of compassion, stress, experiential avoidance, and demographics. They answered questions addressing attitudes and beliefs regarding psychosocial aspects of care, which were condensed to the following 6 dimensions through factor analysis: (1) confidence, (2) perceived resource availability, (3) blame towards patients, (4) fear of offending patients, (5) professional role resistance, and (6) fear of negative patient reactions. We performed 6 multivariable hierarchical regression analyses to determine whether self-reported compassion, perceived stress, and experiential avoidance were associated with aspects of surgeons’ attitudes and beliefs regarding psychosocial care. Results: After accounting for the influence of relevant covariates, experiential avoidance explained 2.9-6.6% of the variance (P-values .002 to .031) in all aspects of surgeon attitudes and beliefs regarding psychosocial care, except for perceived resource availability. Perceived stress and compassion toward others were not associated with any outcome variable. Conclusion: Targeting orthopedic surgeons’ tendency to avoid discomfort (i.e., experiential avoidance) via supportive/educational programs may decrease barriers and increase their abilities to address psychosocial factors, resulting in improved patient outcomes.