Assessment of Factors Influencing Communication in Clinical Pharmacy

Abstract

This study aimed to identify and assess the factors that influence communication quality between clinical pharmacists and patients using a structural equation model based on the predisposing, reinforcing, and enabling constructs in educational/environmental diagnosis and evaluation–policy, regulatory, and organizational constructs in educational and ecological development model to identify the most effective path to increase their communication quality. A survey was conducted at 253 Class-A tertiary hospitals in China from March to December 2016. During on-site observations, verbal communications between clinical pharmacists ( n = 752) and patients were audio recorded, and communication quality was rated by an expert panel on an 8-item Quality of Communication Rating Scale. Clinical pharmacists completed questionnaires that examined the predisposing, enabling, and reinforcing factors that influenced communication quality. Finally, AMOS was employed to examine the relationships between the three factors and communication quality. The results indicated that all three factors positively affected communication quality, with correlation coefficients of .26, .13, and .17, respectively. The most influential predisposing factor was attitude (.77), the most influential enabling factors were self-efficacy (.71) and confidence (.72), and the most influential reinforcing factor was rewards (.74). The findings suggest that pharmacists’ attitudes toward, perceived knowledge of, and skill and confidence in communication, and the rewards offered by pharmacy management are the most influential factors that influence communication quality.