Awareness of diagnosis and treatment plan among patients in the accident and emergency department of a Nigerian tertiary hospital

Abstract

Background: Patient centred care has a correlation to the effectiveness of patient engagement, patient care, and
perceived quality of care. Even in the emergency room, awareness of diagnosis and treatment plans is a critical
component in every doctor-patient interface as it enhances patient-centred care. This study aims to assess
awareness of diagnosis and treatment plans among patients in the accident and emergency department.
Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study conducted at the accident and emergency department of the
University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital.
Result: One hundred and ninety-seven respondents were recruited into this study comprising of 51.3% males and
48.8% females. Most 86.8% of the respondents were aware of their diagnosis, of which 91.8% knew the accurate
diagnosis. Majority 84.8% of the respondents were aware of the treatment, while 68.8% of the respondents were
aware of the names of the medications, most of the respondents 59.4% had no knowledge of the side effects of the
medications. The majority, 61.4% were involved in the management decision. No significant relationship existed
between the socio-demographic characteristics and knowledge of diagnosis and treatment plan.
Conclusion: The chaotic and overcrowded nature of the accident and emergency department should not hamper
the delivery of patient-centred care. Although, findings obtained from this study reveal that the majority of the
respondents are aware of their diagnosis and treatment plan, a portion of respondents do not understand their plan
of care; this indicates the need for further studies to identify interventions that would ensure that gaps in the
physician-patient communication is filled as this optimizes patients’ satisfaction of care received, gives better
sense of control of their total situation and better quality of life.