Patients’ perception towards Doctor- Patient communication in medical clinics: a cross sectional study from a district hospital in northern, Sri Lanka

Abstract Background: A good medical practice involves good communication between the patient and the doctor. Patients' satisfaction is greatly based on the doctor’s skill of communication. Inadequate communication is a significant factor determining patients' dissatisfaction with distrust which leads to poor quality of health care. In this research, we aim to assess patients’ perception towards Doctor-Patient Communication in a medical clinic in Northern, Sri Lanka. Method: This was an outpatient clinic-based cross-sectional study conducted among medical clinic patients where patients get their chronic disease care, in the district hospital Kilinochchi, Sri Lanka. Our study used a validated patient satisfaction questionnaire. Data were collected over a month in early 2023 among 407 systematically random sampled patients. Results: Out of 407 patients (36.4%) were above the age of 60 years and 57.2% were females. One hundred and seven patients had secondary education (26.3%) and 33.9% of them completed tertiary education. The majority (37.6%) were unemployed and 20.9% were labourers. Majority of respondents (97.8%) had reported that they had sufficient time with doctors and 97.2% of them revealed they were greeted. Also, 96.3% of patients were mentioned they were thoroughly examined by the doctor. Majority, 393 (96.6%CI: 94.4-98.0%) patients were satisfied with the doctor's communication. Gender showed a significant association with satisfaction level (P=0.028). Patients above the age of 60 years were more satisfied (99.3%) compared to the other ages (P>0.05). Similarly patients presented in their own to consultation showed more satisfaction level compared to patients presented with by standers (P<0.001).Longer waiting time negatively associated with satisfaction level (P-0.016) Patients trust level regarding doctors was high with mean score of 8.82 with SD-1.44 in 1-10 scale. Trust level score significantly varied with level of satisfaction regarding doctors’ communication (P<0.001). Conclusion: According to the current study, patients’ satisfaction level was high regarding doctors’ communication skills. Also, the gender of the patient had a significant association with the level of satisfaction. Waiting time negatively associated with satisfaction level. Patient’s trust level significantly depends on the level of satisfaction regarding their communication which is corner stone for patient’s adherence to treatment