| Summary: | Effective and skillful communication is a crucial and an important element when it comes to the quality of care. The aim of the study was to examine the perceived barriers to effective therapeutic communication among nurses and patients at Kumasi South Hospital. The study employed a descriptive study design using a quantitative approach to collect data. The study population was made up of registered general nurses and patients at the emergency, medical, surgical and recovery units of Kumasi South Hospital who were conveniently sampled. A sample of 72 registered general nurses and 40 patients were used for the study and data was collected by administering structured closed-ended questionnaires. The findings revealed that workload on the part of nurses and anxiety, pain and physical discomfort of the patient were the main perceived barriers to therapeutic communication. No significant difference was found in perceived barriers between the male and female groups (t = −1.382, p = .149) and perceived barriers among different age groups of respondents (F = 1.132, df = 3, p = .171). The hospital authorities should ensure that nursing workload is reduced in order to facilitate effective therapeutic communication.
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