A Survey on Change in Communication Between Healthcare Professionals and Patients Before and During Coronavirus Disease-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The World Health Organization declared the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic a public health emergency of international concern on 30 January, which caused difficulties among the healthcare professionals (HCPs). Since this pandemic led to strict use of rules and regulations in maintaining physical distancing, a turn was experienced in communication. This study is aimed at assessing communication skills between HCPs and patients before, during and to compare communication skills between them before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Pravara Rural Hospital, Loni, Maharashtra. Samples were included based upon the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Results were obtained with the help of statistical analysis. The present study shows that certain components of communication are changed when comparing before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. To curb the fear of HCP, certain measures can be implemented to reduce anxiety such as informative videos, images, brochures and many more.