FACTORS AFFECTING COMMUNICATION BETWEEN PHYSICIANS AND THEIR PATIENTS: IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH EDUCATION

Abstract

Some of the attitude of patients towards physicians as well as the sex and age of consulting physicians were studied. An attempt was also made to assess the influence of these attitude on the satisfaction of patients with services provided as an index of effective communication between physicians and their patients. This study was undertaken in the General Outpatients Department (G.O.F.D.) of the University College Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria. The G.O.F.D. serves as the first point of medical contact for the majority of patients reporting at the hospital. One hundred and fifty-seven outpatients were interviewed. They were selected by a systematic random sampling procedure over a period of eight clinic days. Every third patient registered for the clinic was interviewed. The results indicate that the age as well as the sex of consulting physician have no influence on physician-patient communication during medical consultations. Patients also have certain attitude toward a physician. These attitudes however do not have any influence on the satisfaction of patients with medical consultations. These attitudes seem to have a socio- cultural basis. This probably arises as a result of the traditional setting where status and age are two respected characteristics. Physicians have at least one or both of these characteristics to their advantage and this could overshadow any negative attitudes a patient could have had towards the consulting physicians. The health education implications of these attitudes are discussed and the various ways and means by which some of the attitudes of patients could be modified are proposed. It is suggested that physicians, medical students and other health workers should be given orientation courses on the health- related cultural beliefs of the various people who are likely to consult them. The major reason for this being that every experience a patient has is educational. Therefore, physicians have a great opportunity to help modify the attitudes of patients. Since the face-to-face approach is the best method of undertaking any health education activities, physicians are in good positions to undertake the education of patients on health matters. The focus of any such health education activities is the patient. However, the community cannot be left out and it is therefore proposed that the mass media as well as the local leaders have a role to play in achieving this.

Finally, it is recommended that a study should be carried out to determine the attitudes of physicians to patients as well as to characteristics of patients such as age, sex and educational level. This will help provide an accurate picture of trends or opinions held by both physicians and patients about each other.