Communication barriers perceived by older patients and nurses

This study investigated the communication barriers perceived by older hospitalized patients and nurses in Korea, with the aim of identifying disparities between the two parties. The authors developed a 50-item communication-barrier questionnaire that includes patient, nurse, and environmental factors. One hundred older hospitalized patients and 136 nurses were asked to rate the importance of each communication-barrier item. Nurses and patients were found to perceive the importance of barriers differently: nurses reported higher scores on patient-related communication barriers, whereas patients reported higher scores on the nurse-related barriers. There were significant differences between patients and nurses in 57%, 62%, and 71% of the nurse-, patient-, and environment-related communication barriers, respectively. Based on these findings, it is necessary for nurses to understand older patients’ perceptions about communication barriers and acquire better communication skills and attitudes.