Nurses’ Communicating with Patients in Peripheral and Border Areas in Indonesia: A Phenomenology Study

Abstract

tBackground: Communication is an important part of nursing care. However,Indonesian nurses still feel communication problems due to cultural andlinguistic differences, especially in peripheral and border areas.Purpose: This study explores the communication experience of nurseswhen providing services to patients in three peripheries and two borderareas of Indonesia.Methods: A phenomenological approach is used in this study. The purposivesampling technique was used to recruit 22 nurses in Indonesia’s peripheryand border areas to be involved in the study. The data collection processwas carried out from August to October 2021. Data were collected throughinterviews using a semistructured questionnaire, and verbatim transcripts ofaudio-recorded interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.Results: This research resulted in four important themes, specifcally:(1) difculty in communicating, (2) emotional distress, (3) conflict andunderstanding, (4) lack of support for competency development.Conclusion: The fndings of this study increase the scientifc understandingof the communication barriers of nurses in the culturally diverse periphery andborder areas. The barriers encountered can be used by nursing managersto construct ineffective nurse communication problem-solving interventions.The main emphasis on solving communication problems should includecontinuing education and training support so that nurses’ communicationcompetence can be improved and applied in the service area based on thecultural and linguistic conditions of the patient