Abstract

This study explored communication access and barriers from the perspectives of 96 hospital staff across Canada in February 2025. A cross-sectional observational design was used, with an online survey distributed through social media platforms. Statistical analyses, including binary logistic regression, were conducted using IBM SPSS Statistics version 29. Most respondents identified as female (89.0%) and were between 19 and 49 years old. One in ten hospital staff reported that patients always received communication support from staff, and fewer than 5.0% reported consistent access to communication devices. Support from communication professionals was limited, with 20.2% indicating that this support was never available. Environmental barriers included difficulty accessing devices independently (24.8%), lack of privacy (21.7%), poor Wi-Fi or cellular connectivity (17.2%), and noise (14.7%). When communicating with older adults, staff cited time constraints (53.0%), unclear explanations (13.0%), language barriers (13.0%), and emotional stress (7.0%) as key challenges. Hospital staff appeared committed to supporting patient communication; however, barriers such as limited time, staffing availability, access to communication devices, and environmental challenges may affect the consistency of this support. Communication training was associated with staff perceptions of communication needs and inequities among patients. These findings highlight perceived communication gaps and may support further assessment of communication resources, staff support, and organizational approaches to improving patient-centered communication in hospital settings.

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