Physician–Patient Communication, Nursing and Health Outcomes

Dear Colleagues,

Communication is the basic tool for establishing cooperation between doctors and patients in the implementation of healthcare and the treatment process. It is an integral part of socialization and is imperative for establishing positive relationships. Communication between doctors and patients must build a relationship in which the patient will feels safe, and in which they will understand, accept, and actively participate in the healing process.

The process of treatment and healthcare should never be reduced to only choosing a therapy, but instead should also involve building a relationship with the patient, in which adequate communication is key. If the communication is not effective, it can interfere with the division of opinions, and roles should change in accordance with the inappropriate response.

New approaches within the framework of health psychology emphasize the importance of good communication and cooperation between the health workers and patients during medical therapy, offering numerous psychological techniques to improve a patient's overall information on and communication during treatment, which in many cases is a very useful therapeutic procedure that indirectly affects treatment effectiveness.

Communication between health professionals and other team members can increase awareness of health problems and possible solutions, influence attitudes about creating support for an individual or collective action, demonstrate or illustrate skills, increase the need for healthcare, spread and increase knowledge, and influence attitudes and patient behavior.

The goal of this Special Issue is to discuss and indicate the existing obstacles in communication and the existing opportunities for improving key relationships in daily work between physicians and nurses and patients, their family, and the community as a whole.

This Special Issue aims to present research that is focused on theoretical settings of communication knowledge and skills and to exchange the personal professional communication experiences of physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers in real situations, thus contributing to better relations with patients. Providing information to a patient and encouraging them to actively participate in their treatment gives them a sense of control over the situation and their condition, with the ultimate goal of obtaining the highest possible level of healthcare outcomes.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:

• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of existing assessment tools in communication between physicians and patients, nurses, and other health professionals.
• Validation studies of existing assessment tools.
• Qualitative and quantitative research oriented towards the relationship between the physician and the patient, as well as other healthcare professionals who establish relationships with the patient.
• Predictor variables in communication with a patient's family, but also with patients living in the community.

I look forward to receiving your contributions. 

Dr. Ivana Barać
Guest Editor

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• communication
• physician
• health outcomes
• relations in healthcare
• teamwork
• nursing