Relationship Between Doctors’ Gaze Behavior and Simulated Patient Utterance Volume : A Study Using Wearable Eye Trackers

Abstract

This study aimed to quantitatively evaluate the gaze behavior of doctors and the utterance volume between the doctors and the simulated patient (SP) using a wearable eye tracker during a consultation and to investigate the relationship between the doctor’s gaze behavior and the SP’s utterance volume. Nine doctors wearing a wearable eye tracker recorded their gaze behavior and conversations while examining one SP each. We calculated the partial correlation coefficients between the total gaze behavior count and total gaze behavior duration of each gaze behavior and the utterance volume of the SP, using the utterance volume of the physicians as a control variable. The results of the analysis showed that the count and duration of the doctor’s gazing at the SP’s eyes and face were related to the SP’s utterance volume. There was no relationship between eye contact between the doctors and the SP and the SP’s utterance volume ; however, there was a relationship between the count of mutual gazes without eye contact between the doctors and the SP and the SP’s utterance volume. These findings suggest that the doctor’s gazing at the patient’s eyes or face during the examination or mutual gazing other than direct eye contact between the doctor and patient creates a situation wherein the patient is more likely to discuss subjective information.