Barriers to Effective Nurse- Patient Communication from Perspective of Nurses Employed in Educational Hospitals of Ilam

Effective communication between the nurse and the patient is one of the important factors in providing high quality nursing cares. Therefore, identifying barriers to effective communication is necessary. The aim of this study was to determine the Barriers to effective nurse- patient communication from perspective of nurses employed in educational hospitals of Ilam. This Descriptive and analytical study was conducted during the summer of 2012 in Ilam city. 80 nurses in three educational hospitals affiliated with the Ilam Medical University were selected by random sampling method. Data were collected using a 30-item questionnaire. Reliability was calculated by Cronbach's alpha (r=0 93). In order to analyze the data, SPSS statistical software version 16, T-test and ANOVA were used. The results of this study showed that in this study %43.8 of the participants were female. Regarding individual and social factors, job specifications, clinical situation of patients, and environmental factors; irritability of nurses, nurse's physical and mental fatigue, and presence of a family care provider and lack of in-service training in communication skills were important barriers to the communication respectively. Effective communication is an important factor in obtaining positive results from treatment, reducing stress and increasing patient's satisfaction of medical care. Since the communication is an inevitable aspect of nursing cares, to enhance the nurse-patient communication it is necessary to obstacles mentioned above be resolved by managers.