Abstract
BackgroundPhysicians require specific communication skills, because the face-to-face contact with their patients is an important source of information. Although physicians who perform work disability assessments attend some communication-related training courses during their professional education, no specialised and evidence-based communication skills training course is available for them. Therefore, the objectives of this study were: 1) to systematically develop a training course aimed at improving the communication skills of physicians during work disability assessment interviews with disability claimants, and 2) to plan an evaluation of the training course.MethodsA physician-tailored communication skills training course was developed, according to the six steps of the Intervention Mapping protocol. Data were collected from questionnaire studies among physicians and claimants, a focus group study among physicians, a systematic review of the literature, and meetings with various experts. Determinants and performance objectives were formulated. A concept version of the training course was discussed with several experts before the final training course programme was established. The evaluation plan was developed by consulting experts, social insurance physicians, researchers, and policy-makers, and discussing with them the options for evaluation.ResultsA two-day post-graduate communication skills training course was developed, aimed at improving professional communication during work disability assessment interviews. Special focus was on active teaching strategies, such as practising the skills in role-play. An adoption and implementation plan was formulated, in which the infrastructure of the educational department of the institute that employs the physicians was utilised. Improvement in the skills and knowledge of the physicians who will participate in the training course will be evaluated in a randomised controlled trial.ConclusionsThe feasibility and practical relevance of the communication skills training course that was developed seem promising. Such a course may be relevant for physicians in many countries who perform work disability assessments. The development of the first training course of this type represents an important advancement in this field.
Highlights
Physicians require specific communication skills, because the face-to-face contact with their patients is an important source of information
To ensure that the training course would be tailored to its users, and would addresses the communication needs of all directly concerned stakeholders, it was developed according to the Intervention Mapping (IM) protocol [15]
Other internal publications confirm that delivering good insurance-medical care, which includes correct physician-claimant communication, is the main aim of the Institute
Summary
Physicians require specific communication skills, because the face-to-face contact with their patients is an important source of information. For physicians who perform work disability assessments, the interview with the claimant is in many countries an important source of information [1,2] This interview gives the claimant the opportunity to clarify and substantiate his or her claim, and it gives the physician the opportunity to observe the claimant’s behaviour, to discuss the claimant’s disabilities and consequences thereof, and to reassure the claimant when necessary. Communication is defined as face-to-face contact between physician and claimant, aimed at verbal and non-verbal two-directional exchange of information (including facts, opinions, and feelings, both conscious and unconscious) Communication behaviour, such as checking understanding and summarising information, is linked to patient trust and satisfaction, and is important for many aspects of clinical care, research has shown that physicians rarely check whether patients comprehend the information [6]. Good communication increases the likelihood that patients accept and follow the advice of physicians [9]
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