Experimental Design

A total of 122 primary care physicians affiliated with one of three major hospitals in the Texas Medical Center of Houston participated in the study. These physicians were sent a packet containing a medical chart similar to the one they view upon seeing a patient. This chart portrayed a patient who was displaying symptoms of a migraine headache but was otherwise healthy. Two variables (the gender and the weight of the patient) were manipulated across six different versions of the medical charts. The weight of the patient, described in terms of Body Mass Index (BMI), was average (BMI = 23), overweight (BMI = 30), or obese (BMI = 36). Physicians were randomly assigned to receive one of the six charts, were asked to look over the chart carefully, and then complete two medical forms. The first form asked physicians which of 42 tests that they would recommend giving to the patient (see materials section for a copy of the medical form). The second form asked physicians to indicate how much time they believed they would spend with the patient, and to describe the reactions that they would have toward this patient.

In this presentation, only the question on how much time the physicians believed they would spend with the patient is analyzed. Although three patient weight conditions were used in the study (average, overweight, and obese) only the average and overweight conditions will be analyzed. Therefore, there are two levels of patient weight (average and overweight) and one dependent variable (time spent).