A Study of Doctor-Patient Communication from Healthcare Providers’ Perspective: Language Problems, Influencing Factors, and Suggestions

Jiang Linlin, Bao Yurong, Wang Weiwei and Huang Wei

Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning ›› 2025, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (4) : 16-24.

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Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning ›› 2025, Vol. 10 ›› Issue (4) : 16-24. DOI: 10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20250402

A Study of Doctor-Patient Communication from Healthcare Providers’ Perspective: Language Problems, Influencing Factors, and Suggestions

  • Jiang Linlin, Bao Yurong, Wang Weiwei and Huang Wei
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Abstract

The past decades have witnessed a rapid development of research on health communication, and scholars have explored health communication from different perspectives. This study focuses on doctor-patient communication from the perspective of healthcare providers. A survey conducted among medical staff at a top-tier general hospital in Beijing reveals that the primary language problems in doctor-patient communication from the healthcare providers’ perspective include: (1) patients’ language barriers, including dialect barriers and communication difficulties for special groups; (2) deficiencies in patients’ expressions, such as their inability to translate laymen’s language into diagnostic terms, and information loss due to inappropriate expressions; (3) cognitive differences, involving the asymmetry in medical information comprehension, the misinterpretation of language styles, and the communication mismatch. Contributing factors stem from multiple dimensions such as healthcare providers (e.g., professional competence, communication awareness/skills, professional norms and ethics), patients (e.g., individual traits, psychological and emotional state, health/rights awareness), and external factors (e.g., consulting environment, media influence and social atmosphere). Based on the findings of this study, some suggestions are proposed as follows: healthcare providers should enhance communication awareness and language precision skills; hospitals establish standardized communication protocols and diversify medical science popularization; social media be regulated and guided, and more participation be encouraged in health language services.

Key words

doctor-patient communication / healthcare providers’ perspective / language barrier / deficiency in expression / cognitive difference

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Jiang Linlin, Bao Yurong, Wang Weiwei and Huang Wei. A Study of Doctor-Patient Communication from Healthcare Providers’ Perspective: Language Problems, Influencing Factors, and Suggestions[J]. Chinese Journal of Language Policy and Planning. 2025, 10(4): 16-24 https://doi.org/10.19689/j.cnki.cn10-1361/h.20250402

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