Communication Skills Of Healthcare Professionals Research Articles

Communication skills of healthcare professionals in paediatric diabetes services

To identify training needs in communication skills and to assess training preferences of staff working in paediatric diabetes services, which will inform the development of a learning programme in behaviour change counselling for healthcare professionals. Three hundred and eighty-five staff in 67 UK paediatric diabetes services were sent questionnaires to determine their previous communication skills training, to measure their self-reported view of the importance of and confidence in addressing common clinical problems and to assess the perceived feasibility of training methods to improve skillfulness. Two hundred and sixty-six questionnaires (69%) were returned from 65 services. Sixteen per cent of doctors, nurses and dietitians reported no previous training in communication skills and 47% had received no training since graduating. Respondents rated psychosocial issues as more important to address than medical issues within consultations (t = 8.93, P < 0.001), but felt less confident addressing such issues (t = 15.85, P < 0.001). One-day workshops and monthly team meetings were the most popular of the training options considered (65% and 77%, respectively). CD ROM and web-based learning were considered feasible for 54% and 56% of respondents, respectively, although lack of time (55%) and privacy (34%) were potential barriers. Addressing psychosocial issues is an important component of consultations involving young people with diabetes, but healthcare professionals find it easier to address medical issues. This represents a key training need in communication skills for diabetes professionals. The survey will inform the development of a tailored learning programme for health professionals in UK paediatric diabetes clinics.

Communication: Common challenging scenarios in cancer care

Good communication is at the heart of effective cancer care. Certain situations which occur commonly in cancer care present particular challenges to the communication skills of healthcare professionals. This paper explores some of the reasons why these situations are difficult and provides frameworks for responding, to stimulate thought and discussion.

The changing face of hypertension and antihypertensive agents.

In summary, much is needed to be done to foster thinking, both by patients and healthcare providers, in terms of disease risks and benefits of medical care, including those of pharmaceutical options. Healthcare professionals have been relatively ineffective patient educators, perhaps because there is still the old paternalism of 'doctor knows best'. Also, insufficient attention has been given to enhance the communication skills of healthcare professionals. Very likely, one of the reasons is the pressure to control costs which limits the time that healthcare professionals spend consulting with patients. Less than ideal compliance has even been reported in large-scale trials. For example, in the SHEP trial, a 90% compliance was reported (perhaps because of patient selection) but in the Studies of Left Ventricular Dysfunction (SOLVD), only 80% compliance was achieved. Poor adherence to long term treatment, both lifestyle modifications and pharmacological therapy, has been identified as the major reason for inadequate control of elevated BP; some sources claim that only 25% of all hypertensive patients have controlled BP. Thus planned patient education efforts should be undertaken as these can significantly improve BP control and decrease hypertension-related morbidity and mortality. To achieve this, the patient must become an active participant in the planned regimen, and not remain a passive recipient (table III).