Quantitative exploration of the barriers and facilitators to nurse-patient communication in Saudia Arabia

Bander S Albagawi,Linda K Jones

doi:10.5430/jha.v6n1p16

Abstract

Nurses with effective communication skills play a critical role in minimising the stress associated with hospitalisation for both patients and their families. Effective communication has become increasingly reported as a key component in effective health care outcomes, which is even more crucial in countries such as Saudi Arabia with a large foreign healthcare workforce. The presence of a large expatriate workforce with a different language from the host society and the ensuing complexity of sociocultural linguistic and heath beliefs systems has been poorly researched. This study aimed to investigate barriers and facilitators of nurse-patient communication in Saudi Arabia using the Nurses’ Self-Administered Communication Survey. The survey was distributed to a random sample of 291 nurses working in medical and surgical departments at five hospitals in Saudi Arabia. The results indicate that the Philippine and Saudi Arabian nurses perceived greater barriers to communication with respect to personal/social characteristics, job specifications and environmental factors then nurses of other nationalities. In addition, nurses with shorter experience in Saudi Arabia perceived greater barriers to communication with respect to the clinical situation of patient and environmental factors than the nurses with longer experience. Lastly, nurses who had not attended specialist courses on communication skills acquisition perceived greater barriers to communication with respect to personal characteristics and job specifications than nurses who had attended such courses. This study highlights the need to better prepare expatriate nurses before they enter the workforce in Saudi Arabia on cultural competence and language skills.

Highlights

Nurses with effective communication skills play a critical role in minimising the stress associated with hospitalisation for both patients and their families
This study indicated that the quality of nursing such as providing physical care, emotional support and ex- care is improved through effective communication skills in
Studies of key communication barriers to providing cultur- stituted the reasons for undertaking the research described in ally and linguistically appropriate care found that language this paper

Summary

Introduction

Nurses with effective communication skills play a critical role in minimising the stress associated with hospitalisation for both patients and their families. In healthcare, suggesting that communication is a central aspect of nursing effective communication requires nurses to have key roles practice.[3] This study indicated that the quality of nursing such as providing physical care, emotional support and ex- care is improved through effective communication skills in ISSN 1927-6990 E-ISSN 1927-7008 jha.sciedupress.com This strong family connection adds another dimension to the nurses’ communication skills in that they need to commuFurthermore, nurses need to practice effective communi- nicate, with the patient, and with the patient’s cation skills during patient care to inform the competent friends, family and sitters.[11] For expatriate nurses from delivery of biomedical as well as psychosocial information. Studies of key communication barriers to providing cultur- stituted the reasons for undertaking the research described in ally and linguistically appropriate care found that language this paper

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