The Influence of Nurse Communication Skills on Patient Understanding of Treatment Plans and Outcomes

Posted: Dec 05, 2024

• Riley Thompson
• Daphne Wells
• Marcus Vance

Abstract

The critical role of nurse-patient communication in healthcare delivery has been widely acknowledged, yet the precise mechanisms through which communication skills influence patient comprehension and clinical outcomes remain inadequately characterized. Traditional research approaches have predominantly utilized qualitative methods or standardized surveys, which, while valuable, often fail to capture the dynamic complexity of clinical interactions. This study addresses this gap by introducing an innovative computational framework that quantitatively analyzes linguistic patterns in nurse-patient dialogues to establish empirical relationships between communication strategies and patient understanding. Effective communication represents a cornerstone of quality healthcare, particularly in the context of treatment plan explanations where misunderstanding can lead to medication errors, non-adherence, and adverse clinical outcomes. Nurses, as primary points of patient contact, bear significant responsibility for ensuring that complex medical information is accurately conveyed and comprehended. Previous literature has established general correlations between communication quality and patient satisfaction, but has provided limited insight into the specific linguistic features that facilitate understanding. Our research questions investigate how particular communication strategies employed by nurses influence patient comprehension of treatment protocols, which linguistic patterns most effectively bridge health literacy gaps, and how these communication dynamics ultimately affect clinical outcomes. We hypothesize that nurses who adapt their explanatory approaches based on real-time patient responses and employ structured information delivery frameworks achieve superior patient understanding and treatment adherence. This study makes several original contributions to the field. First, we develop a novel computational methodology for analyzing clinical communication that moves beyond subjective assessments. Second, we identify specific, measurable communication strategies that optimize patient understanding. Third, we establish quantitative relationships between communication patterns and clinical outcomes.