THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN INTERPROFESSIONAL COMMUNICATION GAPS AND DELAYED PATIENT DISPOSITION: A CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY OF HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS IN A TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Abstract

Interprofessional communication gaps are increasingly recognized as contributors to emergency department (ED) inefficiency, yet few studies have quantified their association with disposition delays in resource-constrained tertiary care settings. This study examined the relationship between specific communication domains and perceived disposition delays among healthcare professionals in a tertiary care hospital ED. A quantitative, correlational cross-sectional design was employed. A sample of 200 healthcare professionals, including physicians, nurses, and paramedical staff with more than six months of ED experience, was recruited using convenience and purposive sampling. Data were collected through a structured, self-administered questionnaire measuring five communication domains: clarity and completeness, timeliness, handover, roles and responsibilities, and escalation and resolution, along with frequency of perceived disposition delay. Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression analyses were conducted using SPSS version 26. All five communication domains demonstrated significant positive correlations with perceived delay. Regression analysis identified interface quality (β = 0.497, p < 0.001) and escalation/resolution (β = 0.251, p < 0.001) as the strongest independent predictors, while clarity and handover were non-significant after adjustment. The findings suggest that interventions targeting boundary-spanning relationships and structured escalation pathways may be more effective in reducing disposition delays than standardizing information transfer alone.