Obstacles to effective communication between physical/occupational therapists and patients in the Saudi Arabian context: a cross-sectional study

Effective communication between healthcare providers and patients is essential for high-quality care and patient satisfaction. Barriers to communication can lead to misunderstandings and poorer health outcomes. This study aims to identify communication obstacles between physical/occupational therapists (PTs/OTs) and patients in the Saudi Arabian context.

This cross-sectional study, which was conducted from September 2022 to January 2023, involved 228 patients and 46 therapists from the rehabilitation services department. Data were collected via two self-administered questionnaires and analyzed via Pearson’s chi-square test of independence and Fisher’s exact test for categorical nominal data to assess associations between variables. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Most patients (25.4%) were young adults aged 18–30 years, predominantly Saudi nationals (96.5%), with undergraduate degrees (63%). High satisfaction with therapists was reported by 69.3% of patients. The key barriers identified included limited consultation time (15.8%) and the use of medical records (4.8%). Therapists, primarily young professionals aged 25–30 years (54.3%) with 3–5 years of experience (43.5%), also reported time limitations (30.4%), physical setup issues (37.0%), and poor patient history-taking (56.5%) as significant barriers. Additional findings from our study indicated that monolingual Arabic-speaking therapists faced greater challenges in understanding language (p = 0.02), and younger therapists (aged 25–30) reported greater difficulties in managing multiple problems during sessions (p = 0.03), highlighting age and linguistic background as significant factors influencing communication efficacy.

Addressing communication barriers through targeted interventions, such as enhanced training, improved clinical structures, and advanced electronic health records, can improve patient satisfaction and treatment outcomes. Future research should focus on longitudinal studies and specific communication training programs.