Implementing dialogic communication for complaint management in Malang Private Hospital, Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25139/jsk.v10i1.11192Keywords:
complaint management; dialogic communication; hospital management; public serviceAbstract
Persistent increases in patient complaints in private hospitals indicate a structural gap in how complaint management systems integrate dialogic communication principles in practice. This mixed-method study examined the implementation of a dialogic communication framework in managing patient complaints at a private hospital in Malang, Indonesia. This study particularly focused on how the current complaint system reflects the principles of mutuality, transparency, and organisational commitment. This study integrated in-depth interviews with key stakeholders and a quantitative analysis of 605 patient complaints. The findings indicate a fractured dialogue that demonstrates a substantial gap between the procedurally and performatively responsive complaint system and its actual capacity for genuine dialogic communication. This management misconduct is rooted in systemic fragmentation, sectoral ego, and an organisational unwillingness to embrace the risk of transparency. Ultimately, this study proposes the Integrated Public Service Communication Flow model, designed to shift the organisational culture from a reactive and monologic approach to a proactive, relational, and genuinely dialogic. This proposed model accentuates a concrete framework for rebuilding patient trust by embedding mutuality and commitment into the hospital operations.
References
Abbas, R., & Miller, T. (2025). Exploring communication inefficiencies in disaster response: Perspectives of emergency managers and health professionals. International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 120, 105393.
Aboalganam, K. M., Alzghoul, A., & Alhanatleh, H. (2024). An analysis of service quality and complaint handling in the Jordanian healthcare sector: Implications for TQM and customer retention. Innovative Marketing, 20(1), 51.
Al-Mekhlal, M., Al-Buraik, M., & Al-Lubli, M. (2023). Digital transformation: AI-powered bot solutions and automation for customer services. 2023 International Conference on Digital Applications, Transformation & Economy (ICDATE), 1–7.
Andersen, L. L. (2023). A narrative journey into the borderland of patient safety: Toward an expanded, relational concept of safety. Qualitative Research in Medicine & Healthcare, 7(3), 11496.
Aridi, A. S. (2025). Need for Executive Leadership Coaching in Public Health, Healthcare Administration, Public Safety Crisis Management, and Healthcare Humanitarian Relief. Health Economics and Management Review, 6(2), 76–94.
Babenko, C. (2021). Culture of Compliance in a Healthcare System: A Qualitative Case Study of Leadership Perceptions Related to Self and Frontline Staff. Wilmington University (Delaware).
Bodonhelyi, A., Stegemann-Philipps, C., Sonanini, A., Herschbach, L., Szep, M., Herrmann-Werner, A., Festl-Wietek, T., Kasneci, E., & Holderried, F. (2025). Modeling Challenging Patient Interactions: LLMs for Medical Communication Training. ArXiv Preprint ArXiv:2503.22250.
Borson, S., Small, G. W., O’Brien, Q., Morrello, A., & Boustani, M. (2023). Understanding barriers to and facilitators of clinician-patient conversations about brain health and cognitive concerns in primary care: a systematic review and practical considerations for the clinician. BMC Primary Care, 24(1), 233.
Bourne, C. (2022). Public relations and the digital. London, UK, University of London.
Burke, K., & Leben, S. (2024). Procedural fairness: A key ingredient in public satisfaction. Ct. Rev., 60, 6.
Chen, L.-H., Chen, C.-H., Loverio, J. P., Wang, M.-J. S., Lee, L.-H., & Hou, Y.-P. (2024). Examining soft and hard attributes of health care service quality and their impacts on patient satisfaction and loyalty. Quality Management in Healthcare, 33(3), 176–191.
Colgan, D. D., Eddy, A., Aulet-Leon, M., Green, K., Peters, B., Shangraw, R., Theard, M. A., Han, S. J., Raslan, A., & Oken, B. (2024). Compassion, communication, and the perception of control: a mixed methods study to investigate patients’ perspectives on clinical practices for alleviating distress and promoting empowerment during awake craniotomies. British Journal of Neurosurgery, 38(4), 911–922.
Davenport, F. G. (2022). Communicating comfort in crisis: a literature review on overcoming the emergency room environment to foster the nurse-patient relationship.
Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (2023). The Sage handbook of qualitative research. sage.
El-Adly, M. I., Souiden, N., & Khalid, A. (2024). The impact of emotional perceived value on hotel guests’ satisfaction, affective commitment and loyalty. Consumer Behavior in Tourism and Hospitality, 19(4), 551–567.
Feldman, S. S., Kennedy, K. C., Nafziger, S. M., Orewa, G. N., Kpomblekou-Ademawou, E., Hearld, K. R., & Hall, A. G. (2022). Critical success factors for addressing discharge inefficiency at a large academic medical center: A Lean Six Sigma approach. Journal of Nursing Care Quality, 37(2), 135–141.
Filip, R., Gheorghita Puscaselu, R., Anchidin-Norocel, L., Dimian, M., & Savage, W. K. (2022). Global challenges to public health care systems during the COVID-19 pandemic: a review of pandemic measures and problems. Journal of Personalized Medicine, 12(8), 1295.
Gartner, J.-B., Abasse, K. S., Bergeron, F., Landa, P., Lemaire, C., & Cote, A. (2022). Definition and conceptualization of the patient-centered care pathway, a proposed integrative framework for consensus: a concept analysis and systematic review. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 558.
George, G., Chaturvedi, S., Corbishley, C., & Atun, R. (2024). Relational co‐ordination and stigma at work: How frontline employees compensate for failures in public health systems. Journal of Management Studies, 61(3), 752–784.
Gerken, A. T., Öngür, D., Kim, S. J., Ren, B., Idiculla, T., & Stoklosa, J. (2025). Patient-Centered Communication: Incorporating Principles of Dialogic Practice and Family Centered Rounds on an Inpatient Psychotic Disorders Unit. Community Mental Health Journal, 61(2), 394–400.
Güllüpınar, M. D. (2023). A Qualitative Study to Explore the Perceptions of Health-Care Professionals on the Use of Dialogic Communication Tools in Health Institutions. Communicata, 26, 23–30.
Havana, T., Kuha, S., Laukka, E., & Kanste, O. (2023). Patients’ experiences of patient‐centred care in hospital setting: A systematic review of qualitative studies. Scandinavian Journal of Caring Sciences, 37(4), 1001–1015.
Kent, M. L. (2023). Dialogic theory in public relations. In Public relations theory III (pp. 133–150). Routledge.
Kent, M. L., & Taylor, M. (2021). Fostering dialogic engagement: Toward an architecture of social media for social change. Social Media+ Society, 7(1), 2056305120984462.
Keyton, J., & Beck, S. J. (2023). Relational communication in groups. In Group Communication (pp. 147–160). Routledge.
Kim, E.-J., Koo, Y.-R., & Nam, I.-C. (2024). Patients and healthcare Providers’ perspectives on patient experience factors and a model of patient-centered care communication: a systematic review. Healthcare, 12(11), 1090.
Kooijman, A., & Canfield, C. (2024). Cultivating the conditions for care: it’s all about trust. Frontiers in Health Services, 4, 1471183.
Lloyd, R., Munro, J., Evans, K., Gaskin-Williams, A., Hui, A., Pearson, M., Slade, M., Kotera, Y., Day, G., & Loughlin-Ridley, J. (2023). Health service improvement using positive patient feedback: Systematic scoping review. PLoS One, 18(10), e0275045.
Lu, W. (2024). Examining the effects of empathy and dialogic risk communication in physicians’ text-based messages on patient satisfaction and compliance in Chinese online medical consultations.
Mahlangu, T. (2024). Building communicative organisation-stakeholder relationships through dialogue on social networking sites: a network perspective. University of Johannesburg (South Africa).
Nartey, L. J., Henisz, W. J., & Dorobantu, S. (2023). Reciprocity in firm–stakeholder dialog: Timeliness, valence, richness, and topicality. Journal of Business Ethics, 183(2), 429–451.
Nguyen, N. X., Tran, K., & Nguyen, T. A. (2021). Impact of service quality on in-patients’ satisfaction, perceived value, and customer loyalty: A mixed-methods study from a developing country. Patient Preference and Adherence, 2523–2538.
Nyambo, E. (2024). When Doctor–Patient Discourse Isn’t Adequate: Social Media Health Multimodal Dialogic Discourse Analysis. In The Palgrave Handbook of Language and Crisis Communication in Sub-Saharan Africa (pp. 325–342). Springer.
Omari, F., Hamid, A. B. A., & Ya’akub, N. (2023). Why and how patients complain: Decoding patterns of patient complaint behaviour in private and public hospitals.
Poth, C. N. (2023). The Sage handbook of mixed methods research design.
Sembiring, D. C., Aulia, D., & Juanita, J. (2024). Analisis Perbedaan Karakteristik Pasien terhadap Preferensi Pasien Rawat Jalan BPJS-Kesehatan di Rumah Sakit Kelas B Milik Swasta dan Pemerintah. MAHESA: Malahayati Health Student Journal, 4(11), 5060–5076.
Shisundi, P. Y. (2023). Factors influencing patient waiting time in emergency department of Khunyangu Sub-County hospital, Kenya.
Shuja, A., Awan, M. I., & Saleem, I. (2023). Cotton Web Limited: a journey from disintegrated complaint handling to an efficient and robust e-complaint management system. Emerald Emerging Markets Case Studies, 1–19.
Subramaniam, S. H., Wider, W., Tanucan, J. C. M., Yew Lim, K., Jiang, L., & Prompanyo, M. (2024). Key factors influencing long-term retention among Contact Centre employee in Malaysia: a Delphi method study. Cogent Business & Management, 11(1), 2370444.
Thamrin, H., Ridho, H., Saragih, I. D., & Pirandy, G. (2025). Exploring social determinants of health and their influence on quality of life and social welfare in Indonesia: a comprehensive review. Retos: Nuevas Tendencias En Educación Física, Deporte y Recreación, 68, 1497–1517.
Venuleo, C., Marinaci, T., Cucugliato, C., & Giausa, S. (2024). It is time to take complaints seriously? An exploratory analysis of communications sent by users to a public healthcare agency before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 21(10), 1299.
Wachid, I. B., Wulandari, M. P., & Nasution, Z. (2024). Evolving human resource dimension in Indonesia’s digital public relations landscape. Jurnal Studi Komunikasi, 8(2), 441–450.
Werder, O. (2024). Transformational Health Communication. Springer.
Widarna, R., Afifah, N., Djunaedy, H. A. K., Sassi, A., Vasquez, N. A., Oga-Omenka, C., Salindri, A. D., Lestari, B. W., Pai, M., & Alisjahbana, B. (2024). The shifting landscape of private healthcare providers before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: Lessons to strengthen the private sectors engagement for future pandemic and tuberculosis care. PLOS Global Public Health, 4(10), e0003112.
Yamada, A. (2025). Patient-healthcare Professional Dialog from the Patient’s Perspective: Concept Analysis Based on Literature Review. Journal of Patient Experience, 12, 23743735251324396.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Jurnal Studi Komunikasi is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
The authors agree to the terms of this Copyright Notice, which will apply to this submission if and when it is published by this journal (comments to the editor can be added below).
