The impact of adult patient communication experiences on patient satisfaction with nursing cancer care: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Abstract Background Patient satisfaction in cancer care can be influenced by several factors including patient communication experiences with nurses. Therefore, understanding patient satisfaction is important in order to improve the quality of nursing care. This study aimed to measure the impact of patient characteristics and communication experiences on patient satisfaction with nursing cancer care.Methods Convenience sampling was used to recruit participants receiving cancer care in Saudi Arabia. Two validated instruments were used to measure patient communication experiences (PCC-36) and patient satisfaction (SNQ-10) with cancer care. The PCC-36 consisted of 36 items subdivided into six domains measuring patient communication experiences, and the SNQ consisted of ten items measuring patient satisfaction with nursing care. We performed descriptive and inferential statistics to analyse the data. A stepwise linear regression model was used to identify the significant predictors of patient satisfaction with cancer care.Results In total, 318 completed and returned surveys. Overall, participants reported good to high satisfaction with nursing care. We found that patient communication experiences regarding exchanging information with nurses, fostering healing relationships, and enabling patient self-management were significant predictors of patient satisfaction. Furthermore, patients with known communication issues relating to aphasia were less satisfied with nursing care. There was no relationship between patient satisfaction and the PCC-36 domains of response to emotions, decisions making, and managing uncertainty.Conclusions During cancer care in Saudi Arabia, exchanging information, fostering healing relationships and enabling patient self-management, all improve patient satisfaction with nursing. There is a need for qualitative research to explore more deeply the association between communication and patient satisfaction in cancer care settings in Saudi Arabia.Practice Implications: Understanding the predictors of patient satisfaction can potentially inform interventions to reduce disparities in the quality of communication. This would improve the care provided by healthcare providers, which would improve the patient’s experiences.