Evaluating the quality of the relationship between health workers and patients/caregivers during the Covid-19 pandemic: a review

Abstract

The SARS-Covid 19 pandemic has produced a change in the relationship between health professional and patient and between doctors and family members. Restrictions to avoid the spread of the virus encouraged the use of electronic communication in interactions and the use of face masks in hand-to-hand contact, reducing the possibility of communication.
Communication has changed, losing important non-verbal components and partly body language. This change risked
impoverishing the relationship between doctor/nurse and patient/family, as the role of non-verbal communication is
vital in healthcare (Diamare et al., 2021). Indeed, facial expressions, gestures, eye contact, posture and tone of voice
‘speak’ with great intensity, becoming an important tool for healthcare professionals in understanding symptoms.
To this end, it was decided to implement a health and business psychology survey to analyze any emerging needs and
to improve the quality of the relationship in the healthcare facilities participating in the survey. Therefore, questionnaires were administered to healthcare professionals and patients/caregivers in order to investigate how they interact
and their different points of view on similar issues.