An Investigation of Igbo Language Use in Healthcare Communication at Federal Medical Centres in South East Nigeria

This study investigates the use of Igbo language in healthcare communication at three Federal Medical Centres in South East Nigeria, specifically examining doctor-patient interactions, health education sessions, and hospital signage. Effective healthcare communication is a recognised determinant of patient outcomes, and language barriers between medical professionals and patients represent a significant equity challenge in Nigerian public health contexts. Despite Igbo being the majority community language in South East Nigeria, its systematic use within Federal Medical Centre environments has received minimal scholarly attention. The research employs observation of one hundred and twenty healthcare interaction sessions, patient exit interviews with two hundred and ten outpatients, and focus group discussions with forty healthcare providers. Findings reveal that Igbo is used in approximately forty-four percent of patient interactions, predominantly in settings involving elderly, low-literacy, or rural-origin patients. Younger healthcare professionals express lower Igbo communication confidence, correlating with their educational socialisation in exclusively English-medium environments. Hospital signage, consent forms, and health education brochures are found to be exclusively in English, creating documented comprehension barriers. Recommendations include compulsory healthcare Igbo communication modules in medical and nursing training programmes in South East institutions. Keywords: Igbo language, healthcare communication, Federal Medical Centres, South East Nigeria, patient outcomes.