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Table 3 Patients’ perceived frequency of encounter to the barriers of communication ranked in descending order of pentiles and grouped by domains (n = 1122)

From: Barriers to effective communication between family physicians and patients in walk-in centre setting in Dubai: a cross-sectional survey

Domain

Subdomain

Pentile ranking

Barriers to communication

Frequency of encounter

Half of the time- Always

Once in a while- Never

Frequency

Percent

Frequency

Percent

Organisational Factors

Time limitation

1

Having limited time during the consultation

263

23.4%

859

76.6%

Physician’s gender

4

Not having a physician of the same gender

160

14.3%

962

85.7%

Medical record use

5

The physician is preoccupied with computer/phone

140

12.5%

982

87.5%

Communication of Information

Lack of communication attributes

3

The physician providing large amounts of information

190

16.9%

932

83.1%

Lack of shared management

3

Not having aid tools, like brochures/writing materials

190

16.9%

932

83.1%

Lack of communication attributes

3

The physician is not checking the patient’s understanding

180

16.0%

942

84.0%

Lack of shared understanding of history

4

The physician is not addressing all the issues raised by the patient

170

15.2%

952

84.9%

Lack of shared understanding of history

4

Inability of the physician to understand the patient’s problem

166

14.8%

956

85.2%

Lack of communication attributes

4

The physician is talking too fast

156

13.9%

966

86.1%

Lack of communication attributes

4

The physician is not giving the patient a chance to talk/ask questions

153

13.6%

969

86.4%

Lack of shared management

5

The physician is pressurising the patient into making quick decisions

126

11.2%

996

88.8%

Personal Characteristics and Attitudes

Failure of rapport building

4

The physician is not showing interest in the patient’s issues

171

15.2%

951

84.8%

Failure of rapport building

4

The physician is not being empathic

169

15.1%

953

84.9%

Failure of rapport building

5

The physician’s manners unsatisfactory

124

11.1%

998

89.0%

Linguistic and Cultural Factors

Lack of cultural competency

4

Not having a physician of the same nationality/culture

177

15.8%

945

84.2%

Medical jargon use

5

The physician is using medical jargon

138

12.3%

984

87.7%

Difficulty with language use

5

Difficulty understanding the physician’s language/dialect

135

12.0%

987

88.0%

Lack of cultural competency

5

The physician not understanding the culture/health beliefs of the patient

130

11.6%

992

88.4%