Communication barriers to education to referrals from the perspective of referrals to health centers and health care providers

INTRODUCTION: One of the most important factors affecting the increase of clients’ satisfaction is how health care providers (HCP) communicate with clients. On the other hand, different factors can hinder proper communication and thus education, which is one of the main tasks of HCP. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate communication barriers to education to referrals from the perspective of referrals to health centers (RHC) and HCP. METHOD: This descriptive-analytical study was conducted on RHC and HCP in Kerman in 2021. Using a multi-stage sampling method, 162 HCP and 414 RHC were included in the study. The data collection tool was two researcher-made questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS 16. FINDINGS: From the perspective of RHC and HCP, most communication barriers were related to environmental and then socio-cultural factors. Among the demographic variables of HCP, level of education showed a significant relationship with the physical-psychological, verbal-non-verbal, and informational domains. And in relation to RHC, a significant relationship was found between education and job in the socio-cultural field and environmental barriers (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: HCP face a variety of barriers in educating people, most of which are related to environmental factors. Given the cost-effectiveness of education to the public, it is essential that planners and policymakers use strategies to eliminate environmental factors as well as the placement of indigenous HCP in health facilities to reduce communication barriers.