International Journal of Sub-Saharan African Research (IJSSAR)

Background: Therapeutic communication is a crucial aspect of healthcare delivery, as it enables healthcare providers to establish trust, empathy, and understanding with patients. In Nigeria, public teaching hospitals are critical components of the healthcare system, providing specialised care to patients. However, these hospitals face challenges in attracting and retaining patients, partly due to perceived poor communication between healthcare providers and patients.
Objective: This study assessed therapeutic communication and patients’ patronage of public teaching hospitals in South-East Nigeria. The specific objectives of the study were to evaluate the quality of interaction between healthcare providers and their patients during healthcare services, and its influence on the patronage of publicly owned teaching hospitals in south east, Nigeria.
Method: It adopted survey research method with a structured questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. The sample size was made up of 384 respondents, out of a population of 1,280,200. Multi-stage sampling technique was employed for selecting a sample for the study. After gathering the data, they were coded, tabulated, and analysed according to the research questions and hypothesis. In order to analyse the data collected effectively and efficiently for easy management and accuracy, the simple percentage method was used. For the scales, the mean scores were determined using the average score formula.
Result: The study found that South-East patients patronise public teaching hospitals in the area, and that therapeutic communication influence the patronage of public teaching hospitals by patients of south east Nigeria.
Conclusion: It is obvious that therapeutic communication influences the patronage of publicly owned teaching hospitals by patients of south east, Nigeria.
Unique Contribution: This study exposed the vital role of therapeutic communication in healthcare delivery. By so doing, policymakers in government and managers of government institutions will have cause to ensure that effective customer relations is imbibed by all categories of public workers in all government institutions. Recommendation: It therefore, recommended that the favourable attitude of healthcare providers in public teaching hospitals should be sustained in other to retain the satisfaction derived by their patients. The therapeutic communication skills of the healthcare providers should be improved upon by engaging them in periodic psychological and human relations trainings to promote greater patronage.