The Mediating Effect of Patient Satisfaction on Sharing Healthcare Experiences on Social Media Following Physician-Patient Communication

Aim: This study examines the effect of physician-patient communication on sharing healthcare experiences on social media and evaluates the mediating role of patient satisfaction in this relationship. Method: The proposed model was developed based on prior literature and causal relationships. The research was conducted using a cross-sectional design between June and July 2025. The study population consisted of individuals aged 18 years and above residing in Turkey. Data were collected through convenience sampling, resulting in 639 valid responses. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and mediation analysis with PROCESS Macro (Model 4) in SPSS 26 were employed for data analysis. Results: Among the participants, 68.1% were female, 66.2% were aged 18–29, and 80.3% were single. The majority (81.3%) had an associate or bachelor's degree, and 42.9% lived in a district. Within the past year, 48.4% visited a hospital 1–3 times, and 77.5% preferred public hospitals. The findings indicated that physician-patient communication had a significant total effect on social media sharing of healthcare experiences (β=0.36, 95% CI [0.23–0.49]), while the direct effect was non-significant (β=0.15, 95% CI [–0.03–0.33]). Conclusion: Patient satisfaction was found to have a full mediating role in the relationship. These results suggest that the quality of physician-patient communication shapes patients' digital behaviors through a mechanism driven by satisfaction levels.