Table 5.

Comparison of the mean scores of barriers to communication skills by nurses in interacting with patients from the viewpoint of nurses and patients

Barrier categories	Barriers	M±SD		P-value (Man Whitney)
		Nurses	Patients
Factors common between nurses and patients	Age differences between nurse and patient	1.30±0.84	1.92±0.89	0.001**
	Gender differences between nurse and patient	1.90±1.0	2.2±1.1	0.045*
	Cultural differences between nurse and patient	2.19±0.80	2.0±0.97	0.638
	Religious differences between nurse and patient	1.47±0.89	1.58±1.14	0.601
	Colloquial language differences between nurse and patient	2.35±0.68	2.00±0.97	0.060
Nurse-related factors	Despondency and apathy of the nurse towards his/her profession	2.6±0.65	2.34±1.01	0.394
	Nurse’s lack of knowledge regarding communication skills	2.25±0.72	2.28±0.89	0.508
	Nurse’s low self-esteem	2.38±0.85	1.96±1.05	0.024*
	Negative attitude of the nurse towards the patient	2.28±0.90	2.15±1.13	0.834
	Nurse’s reluctance to communicate with the patient	2.40±0.84	2.48±0.86	0.451
	Nurse’s insufficient knowledge about the needs and status of the patient	2.27±0.92	2.44±0.93	0.170
	Nurse’s unpleasant experiences of previous encounters with patients	2.24±0.74	1.69±1.01	0.003**
	Relationship between other health care team members and the nurse	2.16±0.77	2.00±0.87	0.306
	Shortage of nurses	2.67±0.68	2.30±0.90	0.019*
	Being overworked during the shift	2.70±0.53	2.35±0.91	0.056
	Lack of enough time	2.62±0.64	2.04±1.03	0.001**
	Working multiple jobs and fatigue	2.44±0.75	2.06±1.14	0.105
	Poor economic status of the nurse	2.36±0.76	1.50±1.24	0.000**
Patient-related factors	Patient’s unawareness of the status and duties of the nurse	2.30±0.75	1.90±0.93	0.025*
	Negative attitude of the patient toward the nurse	2.27±0.79	1.90±0.90	0.023*
	Resistance and reluctance of the patient to communicate	2.28±0.64	1.60±1.11	0.044
	Patient’s lack of focus	2.28±0.68	2.02±0.91	0.154
	Anxiety, pain, and physical discomfort of the patient	2.30±0.71	2.32±0.87	0.578
	family’ interference	2.39±0.69	1.90±1.11	0.026*
	Patient’s companions	2.06±0.76	2.02±1.02	0.209
Environmental factors	Unfamiliar environment of the hospital for the patient	2.06±0.76	1.79±1.09	0.284
	Busy environment of the ward (noise and traffic)	2.59±0.60	2.23±0.96	0.070
	Unsuitable environmental conditions (improper ventilation, heating, cooling, and lighting)	2.48±0.72	1.98±1.10	0.020*
	Critically ill patients in the ward	2.78±0.48	2.17±0.99	0.000**

^*P≤0.05 was considered statistically significant.

^**P≤0.01 was considered statistically significant