The Relationship Between Patient and DoctorFrom The Viewpoint of Patient- ASample Study of a Training Hospital

Abstract

The relationship between the patient and doctor is affected by very different factors. The determinants of that relationship could be either doctor’s own characteristics or patients’one. The main objectives of this study are to evaluate the relationship between the patient and doctor from the viewpoint of patient and to examine whether the patients’ view about the relationship between the patient and the doctor is affected or not by their socio-demographic characteristics. The study was conducted in a training hospital in Ankara, on March-April, 2004. The participants of the study (N= 403) were recruited by random sampling. Data was gathered by questionnairemethod. The results show that the general impression about the doctor’stechnical competence, patients’sconfidence to the doctor, the doctor’sbehavioral manner, the level of information which is provided by the doctor,the language that the doctor use may depend on the patients’age, whether the patient know the doctor’sname, the duration of examination, their general health conditions and the clinic that the patients areapplied. However, the patients’sex, marital status, and education level do not seem to have significant effect on the evaluation of the doctors.Communication, The relationship between the patient and doctor.