Abstract
BackgroundDue to economic development and an increase in the aging population, the demand for medical resources is increasing. A good doctor-patient relationship (DPR) can optimize patients’ medical experience and improve treatment efficiency. The DPR, however, is currently in crisis in China. To explore ways to improve DPR, this study assessed the views on the status of the DPR, medical services, and the general situation of medical work among medical personnel (MP) and the general population (GP).MethodsThis cross-sectional study, conducted between December 2019 and March 2020, targeted the MP and the GP in Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, and Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. A total of 154 MP and 329 GP answered a self-administered questionnaire through Questionnaire Star and WeChat apps. Wilcoxon’s Sign Rank Test, Chi-square test, and frequency distributions and percentages were used to process the data.ResultsOnly 11.04% of the MP and 14.89% of the GP believed that the current DPR was harmonious. Moreover, 54.55% of the MP and 71.12% of the GP believed that the medical industry was a service industry. While 14.29% of the MP and 64.44% of the GP thought medical staff earned high salaries, 19.48% of the MP and 47.11% of the GP wanted their children to be in the medical industry. The recognition of the current status of the DPR did not affect the GP’s preference for their children’s practice (p < 0.05). Most MPs hoped to improve salaries (40.26%), followed by safety (17.53%) and social status (12.99%); only 8.44% of the MP wanted to improve the DPR.ConclusionThe MP’s and GP’s views on the current status of DPR, the importance of medical service attitudes, and the general sense of the medical industry were similar. However, there was a significant difference in the perception of the nature of medical services and the income of the people employed in the medical industry between the two groups. Balancing the expectations of patients in the medical industry and increasing public awareness of the actual situation in the medical industry may be a feasible way to improve the DPR.
Highlights
Due to economic development and an increase in the aging population, the demand for medical resources is increasing
There was a significant difference in the perception of the nature of medical services and the income of the people employed in the medical industry between the two groups
This study focused on both doctors and patients, compared the differences in perception between medical personnel (MP) and general population (GP) on the status of doctor-patient relationship (DPR), medical services, and the general situation of medical work, in order to explore a feasible way to improve the DPR
Summary
Study design This was a cross-sectional study, and data were collected using questionnaires. “Tense” DPR mainly refers to the fact that both the doctor and the patient cannot trust each other, fail to complete the medical treatment process smoothly, and cause medical disputes and even violent injuries to the doctor. “Average” refers to the state of DPR between harmony and tension Both doctors and patients cannot fully trust each other, there are not always medical disputes and violent incidents. Self-administered questionnaires covering three aspects were answered by the participating MP and GP respondents. The first part of the questionnaire used by GP included items on sociodemographic factors: Gender, Age, Place of Residence (Village/Township/ Town, County-level Cities/Prefecture-level Cities, Provincial Capital cities/Municipalities), Education (Elementary School and Below, Junior and High school, Technical Secondary School/College, Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Above), Job type (Institution/Civil Service, Private Enterprise Employees, Self-employed, Unemployed and Student), and Previous Hospitalization (Yes or No). A value of p < 0.05 was considered significant
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