The relationship between emotional intelligence levels and communication skills of primary healthcare professionals

Aim:In this study, it was aimed to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence and communication skill levels of primary healthcare professionals. Method:This study is a descriptive type of research and was conducted between Jan 9 and July 1, 2017 with healthcare professionals working in Manisa. 86% (N=300) of the study group were reached. In the data collection, socio-demographic and professional characteristics form, Communication Skills Assessment Scale and Emotional Intelligence Scale were used. And, SPSS 25.0 was used for data analysis. Findings: The communication skill mean score of primary healthcare workers was 93.61±16.57 (68.6%) and the mean score of emotional intelligence was 174.92±33.28 (65.3%).Communication skills and emotional intelligence were significantly higher in males than in females and in married ones (p<0.05). As the level of education increases, both communication skills and emotional intelligence increase significantly. The occupational year does not significantly affect the communication skills and emotional intelligence of health workers. In addition, the correlation between communication skills and emotional intelligence was found to be r=0.795 and significant (p<0.05). The variance explained by the variables is 63.3%. Results:Communication skills and emotional intelligence levels of primary healthcare professionals are above the middle level. Men and married ones have significantly higher communication skills and emotional intelligence than females and single ones. Both communication skills and emotional intelligence increase significantly with increasing education level. In addition, as emotional intelligence increases, communication skills increase significantly with a strong relationship.