Developing a Patient-Hospital Communication System to address a growing Public Health Concern at Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital
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Date
June, 2019
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Abstract
Communication systems in the Ghana health care system remains a public health challenge. The issue
of the nearest hospital, type of services available, availability of physicians, availability of beds in
referring hospitals and a reminder system among others remains a daunting challenge for patients and
providers of the health service. In other settings, Information, Communication and Technology (ICT)
have been used to efficiently manage communication in healthcare settings (among users and staff at all
levels). This present study sought to review the existing healthcare communication structures,
(mediums, perspectives and challenges) among patients, staff and management members at the
KomfoAnokye Teaching Hospital. A cross-sectional study with a mixed method approach was used in
this study. A multilevel sampling method was used to select 304 patients, 303 health workers and 45
Hospital Directorate Managers to participate in the study. A structured questionnaire was used
concurrently with an interview guide to collect data from respondents. Quantitative data was captured
electronically using Open Data Kit and was analyzed using STATA version 12. Qualitative data was
recorded using a tape recorder supported by field notes. This was transcribed and analyzed thematically.
The study found that patients and Health providers had a general understanding of what hospital
communication meant and the structures available. Majority (72.6%) of the patients made a direct
communication to the hospitals of which 13.2% were booking of appointment. Among the health
workers (62.0%) of them communicates with management in daily base of which such communication
were mainly official. They however mainly communicates casually or informally with their colleques.
Less than half (34.3%) of the staff respondents were satisfied with the current communication between
staff and management. More than half of the management respondents agreed that there existed internal
communication in the hospital. Majority (59.9%) of management’s respondents shared the view that the
current communication system was not an effective system and had little room for feedback
mechanisms. Staff communicated mainly (64.4%), through meetings and face to face (89.8%)
respectively among management and colleague staff respectively. Staff communicated to patients
predominantly (97.4%) through face to face medium. Majority (83.50%) of the staff interviewed agreed
that challenges existed in the current hospital communication system. The need for a digital
communication platform was cited by 75.6% of patients and 93.1% of staff respondents. Currently, no
system exists to offer prior information to patients who intend to assess the referral facility. Also, no
official system exists for digital appointments and other means of patient-staff interaction outside the
hospital environment. It was observed that hospital staff used social media for communicating among
themselves but meeting were held to communicate with the hospital management. Management of the
hospital communicated with the general public using letters and office memos. Concerns such as
dissatisfaction with delayed information flow and little feedback were expressed by managers and staff
of the hospital respectively. All the various groups studied welcomed the prospect of a digital mobile
application system to offer efficient communication within and outside the hospital. Although some
challenges were anticipated as the digital app is expected to offer a superior alternative to the current
communication system in the hospital.
Description
A dissertation submitted to the School of Graduate Studies, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Public Health; Health Services Planning and Management.
Keywords
Public Health., Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Patient-Hospital Communication System, Public Health Concern