Satisfaction on patient related Communication by Healthcare Professionals among Caregivers of Patients Admitted in ICUs: A Descriptive Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Aim: A descriptive study was done to assess the satisfaction on patient related communication by healthcare professionals among caregivers of patients admitted in ICUs of a tertiary care hospital, Ernakulam. Background: Admission of a patient to an intensive care unit (ICU) can result in tremendous stress to family caregivers not only because of the need to provide physical and emotional support to the sick relative, but also due to the burden of decision-making on behalf of the critically ill person. When acute illness leads to admission to an intensive care unit (ICU), the patient's dependence for assistance increases several-fold and much of this burden falls on the family caregiver. Communication practices of multiple professionals in health care settings can impact patient outcomes. The purpose of this study was to assess caregiver’s satisfaction on patient related communication by healthcare professionals and also to study the difference in the caregiver satisfaction on patient related communication by different category of health care professional. Methods: A descriptive study was conducted among caregivers of patients admitted in the ICUs of a tertiary care hospital. By using convenient sampling technique 100 caregivers were enrolled to the study and the data was collected by self-report techniques by using structured communication satisfaction assessment scale for doctors and nurses. Results: Data were analyzed by using descriptive and inferential statistics presented in tables, bar diagrams. Significant difference (p=0.01) was observed in the score obtained for communication satisfaction for doctors 61(60, 63) and nurses 59.5(58, 61). Conclusion: The findings of the present study highlights that the caregiver communication satisfaction was higher with doctors than other health care professionals.