Impact of Communication on Healthy Lifestyle and Healthcare Sector

Introduction: the article is devoted to the study of the influence of communication in healthcare on the promotion of a healthy lifestyle, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of patients based on data from scientific research in communication psychology, biomedical ethics, and medical communication. Methods: the following methods were used in the study: analysis and synthesis methods, a comparative method, situation modeling and forecasting method. Results: The authors describe the specifics of communicative interaction between doctor and patient and its main trends at different stages of medical care. The article formulates the main communicative tactics of doctor-patient dialogue, the use of which will contribute to improving the results of treatment and disease prevention. It is shown that the treatment process directly depends on the effectiveness of the doctor-patient communication model, since the patient's trust in the doctor is the basis of the recovery process. The features of communication between the doctor and the patient are described, and the influence of ethical principles and knowledge of the psychological characteristics of this type of professional interaction on the effectiveness of such interaction is shown. The authors emphasize that communication between doctor and patient takes place on two independent and mandatory levels: linguistic and extralinguistic. The “doctor-patient” communication model is not constant and changes depending on the sphere and purpose of such communication: prevention, treatment, or rehabilitation. This is the basis for choosing tactics, means, forms, and strategies of communication. Conclusions: The most optimal model of interaction between a doctor and a patient is currently considered to be the “partnership model,” which involves the patient in making joint medical decisions, thereby reducing patient anxiety. Involving the patient in dialogue in this model allows the responsibility for the treatment process to be shared between the parties involved. Prospects for further research include improving communication tactics in healthcare by all healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, and other healthcare professionals), studying ethical issues in healthcare communication, and developing new communication tactics to improve the effectiveness of healthcare delivery and public health.