Patient Satisfaction and Communication Skills of Healthcare Professionals: Cross Sectional Study at Benghazi Medical Center
Published: 2024-03-14
Page: 41-50
Issue: 2024 - Volume 7 [Issue 1]
Hager Mohamed Saber Abeid *
Health Administration Department, Faculty of Public Health, University of Benghazi, Libya.
Fatma Abdalla Atitalla Omar
Health Administration Department, Faculty of Public Health, University of Benghazi, Libya.
Ainas Salem Eltarhuni
Health Administration Department, Faculty of Public Health, University of Benghazi, Libya.
Tgdida Awad Mousa Mustafa
Health Administration Department, Faculty of Public Health, University of Benghazi, Libya.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Background: communication skills play an important role in a healthcare professional’s relationship with patients, which can influence their satisfaction.
This study aimed to determine whether patients attending the outpatient clinics of Benghazi Medical Center were satisfied with the communication skills they received from healthcare professionals as well as the association between communication skills and personal data.
Methodology: A cross sectional, descriptive study was conducted, using convenience samples of non- random sampling technique. A total of 344 outpatients participated in the study.
Data was collected by anonymous self-administrated questionnaire which consisted of 2 sections; the first section consisted of personal demographic information such as (patient’s age, gender, employment, and educational level) and the second section consisted of 4 dimensions of communication skills which included: verbal communication, nonverbal communication, listening and persuasion skills. Patients reported their level of satisfaction toward communication on a 5-point Likert scale. Data analyzed by SPSS windows version 21.0.
Results: The study indicated that the overall mean score of satisfaction on communication skills was moderate, score (3.3849). Regards communication skills dimensions, the highest mean (3.459) for persuasion skills, followed by non-verbal communication, verbal communication and listening skills (3.390, 3.387 and 3.302 respectively).
From the result findings, there was a significantly difference between communication skills and gender and employment, (P= .023 and P=.000 respectively). Age and education levels had no significant relationships (association) with communication skills.
Conclusion and Recommendation: overall satisfaction rates were moderate and persuasion had the highest mean in communication skills dimensions from patient perspective. This study recommended that training health professionals on communication skills when dealing with patients and further studies to investigate the impact of communication skills on quality of care.
Keywords: Communication skills, satisfaction, verbal communication, nonverbal communication, outpatients, patient perspective, listening skills
How to Cite
References
Barilaro A, Conidi A, Ligarò S, Licata F, Marinaro MA, Ventura S, et al. Nursing Communication as a Tool for Patient Satisfaction. A Single Hospital Survey. The Open Nursing Journal. 2019 Dec 31;13(1):220–7.
Lee T, Lin EC, Lin HC. Communication skills utilized by physicians in the pediatric outpatient setting. BMC Health Services Research. 2022 Aug 4;22(1).
Seiler WJ, Beall ML. Communication. Allyn & Bacon; 2005.
Sabbah SS, Hallabieh F, Hussein O. Communication skills among undergraduate students at Al-Quds university. World Journal of Education [Internet]. 2020 Dec 20;10(6):136. Available:https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1284411.pdf
Woldeyohanes TR, Woldehaimanot TE, Kerie MW, Mengistie MA, Yesuf EA. Perceived patient satisfaction with in-patient services at Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia. BMC Research Notes. 2015 Dec;8(1):1-8.
Birhanu Z, Assefa T, Woldie M, Morankar S. Determinants of satisfaction with health care provider interactions at health centres in central Ethiopia: A cross sectional study. BMC Health Services Research. 2010 Dec;10(1):1-2.
Nisa SN, Hussain MU, Afzal MU, Gilani SA. Quality of nurse patient therapeutic communication and overall patient satisfaction during their hospitalization stay. Int J Med Sci Public Health. 2017;6:675-80.
Clients satisfaction about interpersonal communication sessions conducted at primary health care centers by health education providers. Journal of Health, Medicine and Nursing; 2020 Feb.
Lotfi M, Zamanzadeh V, Valizadeh L, Khajehgoodari M. Assessment of nurse–patient communication and patient satisfaction from nursing care. Nursing Open. 2019 Jul;6(3):1189-96.
Rezaei F, Askari HA. Checking the relationship between physicians’ communication skills and outpatients’ satisfaction in the clinics of Isfahan Al-Zahra (S) Hospital in 2011. Journal of education and health promotion. 2014;3.
Biglu MH, Nateq F, Ghojazadeh M, Asgharzadeh A. Communication skills of physicians and patients’ satisfaction. Materia Socio-Medica. 2017 Sep;29(3):192.
Jalil A, Zakar R, Zakar MZ, Fischer F. Patient satisfaction with doctor-patient interactions: A mixed methods study among diabetes mellitus patients in Pakistan. BMC health services research. 2017 Dec;17:1-3.
Nikmanesh P, Mohammadzadeh B, Nobakht S, Yusefi AR. Nurses communication skills training and its effect on patients’ satisfaction in teaching hospitals of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences. Iranian Journal of Health Sciences; 2018 Dec 19.
Abdullah AR, Ibrahim RH. Assessment of cancer patient’s satisfaction regarding nurses communication skills in azadi teaching hospital/oncology unit. Mosul Journal of Nursing. 2016 Jun 1;4(2):56-62.
Sheikh AM, Sajid MR, Bakshi EN, Khan AU, Wahed MM, Sohail F, Sethi A. The perceptions of non-native medical students towards language barrier on clinical teaching and learning: A qualitative study from Saudi Arabia. Medical Science Educator. 2022 Aug;32(4):865-72.
Kleefstra SM, Kool RB, Veldkamp CM, Winters-van der Meer AC, Mens MA, Blijham GH, de Haes JC. A core questionnaire for the assessment of patient satisfaction in academic hospitals in The Netherlands: Development and first results in a nationwide study. BMJ Quality & Safety; 2010 Jan 1.
Subedi D, Uprety K. Patients' satisfaction with hospital services in Kathmandu. Journal of Chitwan Medical College. 2014;4(3):25-31.
Artati RD, Pasinringi SA, Jafar N. The effect of doctors-patients' verbal and non verbal communication on patients' satisfaction in outpatient installation of mother and child centre RS Dr. Wahidin Sudirohusodo Makassar. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Healthcare Service Management. 2018 Jun 8;232-236.
Hasan MH, Hamid AA. The impact of patient handling skills on health service quality, an applied study on a sample of private hospitals in Khartoum state. Global Journal of Economics and Business. 2019;6(3):469–85.
Hafez MH, Ali NAH, Ali AGAH. The impact of the dealing skills on the quality of health service applied study on a sample of private hospitals in Khartoum State. Global Journal of Economics & Business. 2019 Jun 1;6(3).
Zhang H, Wang W, Haggerty J, Schuster T. Predictors of patient satisfaction and outpatient health services in China: Evidence from the WHO SAGE survey. Family practice. 2020 Aug 1;37(4): 465-72.
Soleimanpour H, Gholipouri C, Salarilak S, Raoufi P, Vahidi RG, Rouhi AJ, Ghafouri RR, Soleimanpour M. Emergency department patient satisfaction survey in Imam Reza hospital, Tabriz, Iran. International Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2011 Dec;4(1):1-7.
Woldeyohanes TR, Woldehaimanot TE, Kerie MW, Mengistie MA, Yesuf EA. Perceived patient satisfaction with in-patient services at Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia. BMC research notes. 2015 Dec;8(1): 1-8.
You LM, Aiken LH, Sloane DM, Liu KE, He GP, Hu Y, Jiang XL, Li XH, Li XM, Liu HP, Shang SM. Hospital nursing, care quality, and patient satisfaction: Cross-sectional surveys of nurses and patients in hospitals in China and Europe. International Journal of Nursing Studies. 2013 Feb 1;50(2):154-61.
Almutairi KM. Satisfaction of patients attending in primary healthcare centers in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A random cross-sectional study. Journal of Religion and Health. 2017 Jun;56: 876-83.
Atallah MA, Hamdan‐Mansour AM, Al‐Sayed MM, Aboshaiqah AE. Patients' satisfaction with the quality of nursing care provided: The Saudi experience. International Journal of Nursing Practice. 2013 Dec;19(6):584-90.
McFarland DC, Johnson Shen M, Holcombe RF. Predictors of satisfaction with doctor and nurse communication: A national study. Health Communication. 2017 Oct 3;32(10):1217-24.
Hemadeh R, Hammoud R, Kdouh O, Jaber T, Ammar L. Patient satisfaction with primary healthcare services in Lebanon. The International Journal of Health Planning and Management. 2019 Jan; 34(1):e423-35.
Adhikari M, Paudel NR, Mishra SR, Shrestha A, Upadhyaya DP. Patient satisfaction and its socio-demographic correlates in a tertiary public hospital in Nepal: A cross-sectional study. BMC Health Services Research. 2021 Dec;21: 1-0.