Assessment of Communication Skills Level among Healthcare Practitioners

Introduction & Communication skills are the most important characteristics for healthcare providers. The aim of this study was to assess communication skills level and its related factors among healthcare practitioners in Bahar-Hamadan. This descriptive-analytical study was carried out on 309 employees in Bahar health care system. Data-gathering tools consisted of a 3-part questionnaire: communication skills level measuring feedback, listening, and verbal communication. Subjects’ demographic variables such as age, gender, education level and job were also recorded. The obtained data was analyzed by means of the statistical software SPSS-13 using coefficient correlation, liner regression, t-test, and One-way Anova. The subjects reported 62.2, 57.1, and 60.2% of receivable scores of verbal, listening, and feedback communication, respectively. Overall communication skills of 27.8% of the participants were evaluated at the desired level. Significant differences were observed in average score of communication skills related to age, gender, education degree, employment status, workhouse, and experience (P<0.05). In liner regression, factors influencing communication skills were age, gender, and education degree (P< 0.05). The results reveal that the communication skills of more than half of the medical practitioners are weak and moderate. It is recommended to design some program to improve medical practitioner's communication skills.