Evaluation of factors influencing physician–patientcommunication in healthcare service delivery

Abstract

Physician–patient communication has received less focus in the study of healthcare service delivery in Nigeria. Themajority of communication relies on message delivery rather than interpersonal communication. Even when doctorshave significant knowledge to share with their patients, they frequently lack the interpersonal communicationskills required to do it successfully. This quantitative study employed the analysis of 150 valid responses frompracticing physicians in Lagos state. Descriptive statistics were carried out to understand the factors influencingphysician–patient communication. The results revealed good communication skills among physicians as theyagreed to have social conversations with patients, listen intently to them, and promote question-asking. Theresponses from the survey also revealed that factors such as limited consultation time and unfavorable workingenvironments could negatively impact physician–patient communication. Furthermore, the test hypothesis revealeda significant correlation between physicians’ age and gender (p<0.05), whereas physicians’ ethnicity andreligion had non-significant associations. The evaluation of factors influencing physician–patient communicationrevealed that several individual and contextual factors contribute to effective communication, including physiciancommunication skills, patient health literacy, and system-level factors such as time constraints and workload.Healthcare organizations and policymakers should prioritize efforts to improve physician–patient communicationby addressing the identified factors that influence communication and implementing evidence-based interventionsto enhance communication between physicians and patients.