INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION AND PATIENT BEHAVIORAL UNDERSTANDING IN HEALTH SERVICES: A SOCIOPSYCHOLOGICAL STUDY IN INDONESIA

The phenomenon of low patient understanding of medication use and treatment procedures remains a
challenge in healthcare services, especially in outpatient services where interactions are brief. This problem
can hinder treatment compliance and impact the effectiveness of treatment. This study aims to analyze the
effectiveness of interpersonal communication by pharmaceutical personnel and its relationship with the level
of patient understanding based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) framework, which explains how
the quality of messages and communicative relationships influence the process of elaborating health
information. The study used a quantitative method with a cross-sectional survey design, involving outpatient
patients who received medication information services. Data were collected through questionnaires and
analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The results showed that the effectiveness of
interpersonal communication by pharmaceutical personnel was in the good to very good category, especially
in terms of empathy, openness, support, and clarity of message. The level of patient understanding was also
in the good category, as reflected in their ability to translate, interpret, and relate drug information to their
daily conditions. Correlation analysis showed a significant positive relationship with moderate strength
between interpersonal communication and patient understanding, while demographic variables did not show
a significant influence except for consultation frequency. These findings reinforce the ELM assumption that
high-quality communication promotes cognitive elaboration through central pathways, thereby
strengthening patient understanding. Practically, this study confirms the importance of improving the
interpersonal communication competence of pharmaceutical personnel as an effort to improve the quality of
drug education and patient safety. The benefits of these findings can be used as a basis for developing
communication training, formulating drug information service policies, and conducting further research
related to therapy compliance and the quality of patient experience.