{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,28]],"date-time":"2026-10-28T06:57:07Z","timestamp":1793170627202,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":63,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,7]],"date-time":"2025-03-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1741305600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Oncol."],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the widespread use of face masks in medical settings. In the treatment of patients with head and neck tumors or other malignancies, where non-verbal communication and emotional expression are critical, face masks may potentially impair the physician-patient relationship. This study aimed to assess the impact of face masks on perceived empathy and the quality of physician-patient communication in this patient cohort.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A prospective case-control study as part of the postoperative follow-up consultations was conducted at the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University Medical Center Goettingen, utilizing the Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) measure. Patients were divided into two groups: in the case group, clinicians wore face masks throughout the entire consultation, while in the control group, masks were worn only during the clinical examination. The primary outcome was the difference in CARE scores, reflecting the perceived empathy of the clinician.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>No significant difference in mean CARE scores was observed between the two groups (p=0.454), indicating that wearing a face mask did not significantly affect patients\u2019 perception of clinician empathy. However, a significant positive correlation was found between patients\u2019 familiarity with the clinician and higher CARE scores (p=0.003). Other variables, such as patient health status and consultation duration, did not significantly influence CARE scores.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Wearing face masks does not significantly impair perceived empathy in the context of physician-patient communication. Familiarity with the clinician emerged as a key factor in enhancing the quality of the interaction. These findings underscore the importance of fostering long-term, trust-based physician-patient relationships, particularly during periods of pandemic-related protective measures such as mask mandates.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fonc.2025.1539070","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,7]],"date-time":"2025-03-07T06:53:33Z","timestamp":1741330413000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Impact of face masks on empathy and communication in head and neck cancer patients: a case-control study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Georg","family":"Hoene","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nikolaus","family":"von Hahn","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tim","family":"Mathea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Boris","family":"Schminke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kathi","family":"Goldstein","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Martin","family":"Leu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Henning","family":"Schliephake","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Susanne","family":"Wolfer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,3,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","first-page":"25","article-title":"Physician-patient communication in the primary care office: a systematic review","volume":"15","author":"Beck","year":"2002","journal-title":"J Am Board Fam Pract"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0012-1649.28.6.1132","article-title":"Feeling happy versus feeling good: The processing of discrete and global categories of emotional expressions by children and adults","volume":"28","author":"Kestenbaum","year":"1992","journal-title":"Dev Psychol"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"297","DOI":"10.1080\/00221325.2018.1509200","article-title":"Facial expressions and the ability to recognize emotions from the eyes or mouth: A comparison among old adults, young adults, and children","volume":"179","author":"Guarnera","year":"2018","journal-title":"J Genet Psychol"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2020.566886","article-title":"Wearing face masks strongly confuses counterparts in reading emotions","volume":"11","author":"Carbon","year":"2020","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0262344","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0262344","article-title":"How does the presence of a surgical face mask impair the perceived intensity of facial emotions","volume":"17","author":"Tsantani","year":"2022","journal-title":"PloS One"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e0249792","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0249792","article-title":"Face masks reduce emotion-recognition accuracy and perceived closeness","volume":"16","author":"Grundmann","year":"2021","journal-title":"PloS One"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jvoice.2020.09.006","article-title":"Effect of wearing a face mask on vocal self-perception during a pandemic","volume":"36","author":"Ribeiro","year":"2022","journal-title":"J Voice"},{"key":"B8","unstructured":"Maskenpflicht in ganz Deutschland. 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