Patient Satisfaction and Communication Skills of Healthcare Professionals: Cross Sectional Study at Benghazi Medical Center

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.