Just Talk to Me - A Qualitative Study of Patient Satisfaction in Emergency Departments

Communication between patients and hospital staff is a vital part of patient satisfaction and can contribute to better healthcare outcomes. Especially in emergency departments, where the workload is high, it is difficult to always address the communication needs of patients. In a qualitative study, we interviewed 32 patients in emergency departments in Australia. We found that, in the context of the emergency department, the characteristics of the source assumes an essential role in the appraisal of information. Especially if patients show low health literacy hospital staff needs to engage with them. It is important that patients feel informed as this increases patient satisfaction, even though they may not fully understand the delivered information.