Assessment of Information – one of the patient rights – through the analysis of a Radio Programme on Health

Mr. Ersin OGUZ*

*Obstetrician and gynecologist,  Police Radio, Turkey, Producer of Radio Programme called “Saglikli Soylesiler (Healthy Conversations) ”

Abstract

Introduction        Most of the patients who have received health service or who have been receiving health service have difficulties in information. The appropriate place that is enough for informing the patient should be the health institutions where the health service has been received. However, patients intend to be informed with special information due to various reasons by different resources. The purposes of this study are to determine the reasons of participation in a radio programme and behavior of information of the persons who are participating in a lively broadcasted radio programme called Healthy Conversations and Healthy Women (Saglikli Soylesiler Saglikli Kadin) that is weekly broadcasted in a national radio channel, and also to analyze the participants and the talks of the participants during the programme retrospectively, and to present a different point of view in right to information cases. 

   Material and Method 152 live broadcast records dated between 23.2.2005 and 12.8.2009 in Turkish Police Radio, a national radio channel, in a programme called “Healthy Conversations – Healthy Woman” that is lively broadcasted per week have been focused, and the reason of participation of the persons in the programme, and the reason of not being informed during health service, and the matters on which information has been requested have been assessed. The talks during the said radio programme have been carried out as question and answers spontaneously. Patients have been enabled to ask and talk without any hesitation. The programme records have been retrospectively assessed and data have been collected.

Findings 1078 listeners have participated in 152 programmes. 9120 minutes of records have been made and 8208 minutes of this conversation have been carried out as a mutual talk. 390 persons (36,2%) have participated the programme for learning and 587 persons (54,4%) for information deficiency in health institution. 610 participants have declared the reasons of not being informed. It has been understood that 168 persons (27,5%) due to time deficiency, 57 persons (9,3%) due to business concern, 73 persons (12%) due to less respect to themselves, 47 persons (7,7%) due to the scientific deficiency of  medical personnel, and 186 persons (31%) due to the communicative deficiency of the medical personnel, and 69 persons (11,3 %) due to personnel reasons have experienced problems related to the information.  Questions of 873 participants have been classified, and it has been understood that 304 (39%) questions are related to infertility and pregnancy which are concerned by many and need a follow up, and that other matters related to the women health are distributed in balanced way as such 12% and 0,9%.

Conclusion            It has been seen that answers to the questions by the medical institutions are not understandable and are not adequate for the patients and that there exist some problems that are to be solved resulted by receiver and the provider of the health service.  Basic communication rules are not adequate in the places where the health service is provided and this blockades the questions of the patients. Both the people not asking their questions and the people not receiving the answer endeavor to reach out health information unique to the people from different sources. Media subjects are in the top of this list.

The right to information which is one of the fundamental rights of the patients shall be taken a desired place by the patients, and medical personnel, and public servicers, and by non governmental organizations. It is of great importance that the media should create an awareness as a secondary support to the health problems.