COVID-19 patient relatives' communication with health professionals and the patient and the sufficiency of communication in addressing patient relatives' concerns: a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: It is known that relatives of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 are concerned about their patients due to the unpredictable process. In this study, it was aimed to determine the communication process of the relatives of the patient who was hospitalized due to COVID-19 with the patient and health professionals, to evaluate the level of concern of the patient's relatives and to evaluate the sufficiency of communication in overcoming their concerns.
METHODS: The sample of this cross-sectional study was calculated as 384 people with the formula of unknown population and the study was completed with 234 people. ''Personal Information Form'' developed by the researchers was used for data collection, and ''Visual Analog Scale (VAS)'' was used to determine the level of concern of the relatives of the patients and the adequacy of the communication to eliminate their concerns. SPSS 25.0 was used to analyze the data.
RESULTS: Due to restricted communication with their patients, 70.9% of the participants described themselves as " concerned". There is a significant difference (p<0.05) between the health professional with whom the patient's relatives communicate and the level of concern they report about their patients. Accordingly, it was found that those who communicated only with the patient's doctor were more concerned. Relatives of patients who did not receive sufficient information during communication, who met only with the doctor and whose patient was in the COVID-19 intensive care unit found the meeting with the health professional more inadequate in relieving their concerns (p<0.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Relatives of patients who could not communicate with health professionals and their patients had higher levels of concern. Relatives of the patients found the communication with the nurse/nurse and the doctor more effective in relieving their concerns. While doctors usually provide information about the patient's medical condition, nurses, who provide all the care of the patient, can provide more detailed information about the patient's general condition and activities of daily living. Among the relatives of patients who were concerned about their patients, those who communicate with nurses were both less concerned and found the communication more adequate in relieving their current concerns.