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Objectives The aim of this study was to determine how pediatric patients and their parents perceive health care during hospital stays, what are their expectations of doctor behaviors, and which components of care do they consider to be the most important. Methods A qualitative descriptive study was carried out using the open interview technique. Twenty-six parents and 22 children undergoing hospital treatment participated. Results Our analysis identified two major themes: (1) doctor verbal and non-verbal behaviors, which included informing and explaining, conversations on topics other than the illness, tone of voice and other behaviors; and (2) perceived strategies used by doctors. This category included claims of doctors' intentional use of medical jargon to avoid addressing parental questions directly. Parents admitted that they did not understand medical vocabulary, but they also thought they might understand more of the medical issues if the doctor spoke using terms comprehensible to them. Conlcusions Our study shows the importance of interpersonal relationship affecting patient perception of quality of pediatric care. Parents of pediatric patients perceive that doctors behave in ways that deflect parents' questions and avoid providing them with medical information. Such behaviors include doctors excusing themselves by saying they are busy and using medical jargon. Medical students and doctors should be trained to communicate effectively with patients and their parents and develop skills to convey information in a simple and comprehensible way.

The modern understanding of the quality of healthcare takes into account new roles that were granted to patients, including the possibility to assess healthcare based on their experience. A review of the literature shows that among the basic dimensions which serve to measure patients’ satisfaction, issues related to communication are essential. The aim of the study is to determine the aspects of communication with a family doctor which are particularly important from the perspective of the patient. A review of the literature from the years 2000–2016 on communication with family doctors was performed, including articles based on both quantitative and qualitative studies. The main source of the data was the English-language online database PubMed, in which articles were searched for based on such key words as: “medical consultation”, “family doctor”, “general practitioner”, “communication”, “patient’s perspective”. Furthermore, information was searched for in Polish-language journals, books and textbooks for physicians, using a method of manual screening. Analysis of the literature allowed for the identification of the following aspects of communicating with a family doctor perceived by patients: the experience of patients, establishing rapport with a patient, listening, informing a patient, non-verbal behavior, use of a computer during a visit, communication issues from older patients’ perspective, and the relationship between communication and dissatisfaction with care. In summary, the problems of communication between the patient and a family doctor are complex and diverse. The patients’ perspective, with regard to expectations and satisfaction with various aspects of care, including communication, is an important indicator of the quality of care delivered by a family physician. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]