Impact of non-verbal communication on patient satisfaction in Indian hospitals
Authors: Sharma Anand , Sharma Devangi , Arora Pooja 
Published: February 2025

Purpose

In a competitive environment, effective communication between doctors and patients is vital throughout their hospital experience. This study focuses on nonverbal communication in the Indian healthcare context to attain the following objectives: i) to examine the relationship between nonverbal communication cues (e.g. facial expressions, gestures, body language) and emotional response of patients in hospital settings; ii) to assess the impact of positive nonverbal communication on patients’ revisit intention to the same hospital; and iii) to identify specific nonverbal communication behaviors or cues that significantly contribute to positive patient experiences and satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

Data for this study was collected from patients who visited both government and private hospitals during their respective outpatient departments. The data was collected from a specific sample of 320 respondents using a simple random sampling technique; however, only 303 responses were used for the analysis, with the remaining responses excluded due to their incompleteness. In this study, multiple-item scales were used to assess each construct. The survey instrument used in this research was divided into four parts, with the Hospital Service Evaluation section specifically focusing on the nonverbal communication of employees, emotional responses and customer satisfaction.

Findings

Kinesics, paralanguage and physical appearance have statistically significant and positive relationships with positive emotion. Proxemics does not have a statistically significant relationship with positive emotion. None of the predictors (kinesics, proxemics, paralanguage and physical appearance) show statistically significant relationships with the dependent variable (negative emotion). Positive emotion has a statistically significant and strong positive relationship with customer satisfaction. Positive emotion has a substantial impact on customer satisfaction. There is no statistically significant relationship between negative emotion and customer satisfaction. There exists a weak influence of negative emotion on customer satisfaction.

Research limitations/implications

Hospitals should consider providing training programs for healthcare professionals to improve their nonverbal communication skills. This can be done by organizing workshops on body language, voice modulation and personal grooming, enabling staff to effectively convey empathy, warmth and professionalism to patients. To reduce the impact of negative emotions, hospitals should implement mechanisms for promptly addressing and resolving issues that can prevent negative experiences from affecting customer satisfaction. By implementing this, hospitals can effectively leverage nonverbal communication to enhance customer satisfaction and motivate patients to revisit the facility for their healthcare needs.

Originality/value

Originality report is based on turnitin software: 19% – Similarity Index; 15% – internet sources; 22% – publications; 16% – student papers. The similarity is mainly because of reference which is used to conduct this study. In this study, there are some words, such as kinesics, proxemics, paralanguage and physical presence, which are used many times in the study, so there is more similarity.