A Study of the Patient's Opinion toward Nursing Staffs Communicative Behaviors in Out-patient Department of BMA Medical College and Vajira Hospital

Abstract

A Study of the Patient's Opinion toward Nursing Staffs Communicative Behaviors in Out-patient Department of BMA Medical College and Vajira Hospital*

Laddasri          Thaijongrak     BEd (Nursing), MEd (Health Education)**

Sumalee          Pothong           BSc (Nursing), MSc (Human Population and Population Planning)**

* This work was supported by the Vajira. Research Fund (annual research fund 2000)

** Department of Fundamental Nursing, Kuakarun College of Nursing

Objective: To study the patient's opinion level score toward nursing staffs verbal and non-verbal communicative behaviors and compared both groups base on sex, age, marital status, level of education, occupation, income, sufficiency income and number of times in visits.

Study design : Descriptive research.

Subjects : Four hundred patients who had attened the out-patient department of BMA Medical College and Vajira Hospital during April to May 2000, were included in this study.

Methods: Four hundred patients were selected to answer the questionnaires based on different personal characteristics. The questionnaires were tested for content validity and reliability and were corrected before used. Questionnaires consisted of three parts, part 1:personal characteristics, part 2 and 3 : the patient's opinion toward nursing staffs verbal and non verbal communicative behavior.

Main outcome measures: Patient's opinion toward nursing staffs verbal and non-verbal communicative behaviors

based on different sex, age, marital status, educational level, occupation, income, sufficiency of income and number of time of visits.

Results: The patient's opinion toward the nursing staffs verbal communicative behaviors were at moderate level 39.75%, good level 32.25% and low level 28.00% while the opinion toward non verbal communicative behaviors were at moderate level 36.50%, good and low level 33.00% and 30.50% respectively. Patients with different age had significantly different opinion toward verbal and nonverbal communicative behaviors of the nurses. Patients with different income had significantly different opinion toward only verbal while different sex had significantly different opinion toward only non verbal communicative behaviors of nursing staffs. Considering the opinion among each age group, patients older than 55 years had significantly different opinion toward verbal communicative behaviors compared to patients younger than 35 years, and had different opinion toward non verbal communicative behaviors compared to patients with the age between 45 and 54 years. Patients in other age group had no significantly different opinion toward the communicative behaviors of the nursing staffs.

Conclusion : Age of the patients had significant effect to the opinion toward both verbal and nonverbal communicative behaviors while sufficiency of income had effect to only verbal and sex had effect to only non verbal communicative behaviors of the nursing staffs.

Key words : verbal and non-verbal communicative behaviors, patient's opinion, nursing staffs

Vajira Med J 2001 ; 45 : 223 - 230