Self-reported Communication Skills Research Articles

Validation of the Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (SE-12-Gr) Assessing the Healthcare Professionals’ Self-Reported Communication Skills with Older Healthcare Users in Greece

ABSTRACT Patients’ satisfaction with their interaction with the healthcare providers has been found to correlate with adherence to therapeutic plans and better health outcomes. Healthcare providers are experiencing barriers when communicating with specific population subgroups, such as people with low health literacy, low education, and older age. Enhancing the communication skills of the healthcare providers working with older adults could facilitate their interaction with the patients. This study presents the validation of the Self-efficacy-12 (SE-12) in Greek. This is an instrument measuring healthcare providers’ self-efficacy of communication skills used during their interaction with older patients. A sample of 230 healthcare providers working with older adults participated in the study. The scale showed good psychometric properties (S-CVI=.97, Cronbach a = .95, ICC = .81). A medium to high correlation was found with the generalized self-efficacy questionnaire. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) yielded two factors (“Self-efficacy in communication skills and strategies” and “Self-efficacy of successful interaction”) with good psychometric properties. The SE-12-GR is a brief, valid, and reliable tool for assessing self-efficacy of communication skills and it could be integrated as part of the health literacy tools for healthcare providers working with older people in Greece.

Effects of a communication training for oncologists on early addressing palliative and end-of-life care in advanced cancer care (PALLI-COM): a randomized, controlled trial

In advanced cancer care, early communication about palliative care (PC) and end-of-life (EoL)-related issues is recommended, but is often impeded by physicians' communication insecurities. We investigated the effect of a newly developed compact communication skills training 'PALLI-COM' on oncologists' competencies to early address PC/EoL-related issues. We conducted a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) with an intervention group (IG; 2× 90 min training) and a wait list control group (CG) at five sites. At two assessment points, participating oncologists led videotaped medical consultations with simulated patients (SPs) via a privacy compliant video conference platform. SPs were represented by trained actors. The taped conversations were rated for primary outcome (communication skills assessed by adapted COM-ON-checklist and COM-ON-coaching rating scales) by raters blinded for study group. Secondary outcomes included oncologists' self-reported communication skills (Self-Efficacy in Palliative Care Scale, Thanatophobia-Scale, Communication about End of Life Survey, study-specific items) as well as external rating of the SPs. Univariate analyses of covariance with baseline adjustment were used to analyze intervention effects. A total of 141 oncologists [age: mean (standard deviation)= 32.7 (6.3) years, 60% female (nIG= 73, nCG= 68)] participated. Following intervention, the IG showed significantly more improvement in four out of five assessed communication skills: 'reacting to emotions and showing empathy', 'pointing out opportunities and giving hope', 'addressing the EoL' and 'explaining the concept of PC'. IG participants also improved more than CG participants in almost all secondary outcomes assessed by participants and SPs: oncologists' self-efficacy, attitudes towards caring for terminally ill patients, communication strategies and confidence in dealing with PC/EoL-related issues as well as communication quality from the SPs' perspective. Findings indicate that the compact communication skills training PALLI-COM increases oncologists' competencies in early addressing PC/EoL-related issues from different perspectives. Implementation in routine oncology residency might improve advanced cancer care by strengthening these communication skills.

Moderated mediation in relationship education: Communication, commitment, and sociodemographic disadvantage.

This study tested moderated mediation-that is, whether the mechanisms of program impacts are different for different groups of people-in the Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) study of relationship education (RE) programs for low-income married couples. Large-scale evaluations of RE programs have yielded small effects in community settings. Understanding program mechanisms specific to disadvantaged populations may help improve program impacts. This study explored whether communication and commitment mediated program effects on relationship outcomes in the SHM study for participants with relatively higher or lower levels of sociodemographic disadvantage. The present study included all 6,298 couples who enrolled in the SHM study. Data on self-reported communication skills, commitment, happiness, warmth/support, conflict, and psychological abuse were used from wives' and husbands' 12-month follow-up assessments, and a risk index was constructed from nine baseline indicators of social, economic, and demographic disadvantage. Analyses used structural equation modeling to test (a) mediation by communication and commitment, and (b) moderation of the mediation paths by level of disadvantage. The programs improved all relationship outcomes measured. Communication mediated program impacts only for couples with moderate or low disadvantage. Commitment mediated program impacts for participants reporting lowest disadvantage only, with more evidence of mediation for wives than husbands. Further research is needed to determine mechanisms of RE among highly disadvantaged populations to improve services for those at highest risk of relationship distress and dissolution. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Advance Care Planning and Communication Skills Improve after an Interprofessional Team Simulation with Standardized Patients.

Background:Improving rates of advance care planning (ACP) and advance directive completion is a recognized goal of health care in the United States. No prior study has examined the efficacy of standardized patient (SP)-based student interprofessional ACP trainings.Objectives:The present study aims to evaluate an interprofessional approach to ACP education using SP encounters.Design:We designed a pre–post evaluation of an innovative interprofessional ACP training curriculum using multimodal adult learning techniques to test the effects of completing ACP discussions with SPs. Three surveys (pre-training T1, post-training T2, and post-clinical encounter T3) evaluated student knowledge, Communication Self-Efficacy (CSES), ACP self-efficacy, and interprofessional teamwork (using SPICE-R2).Setting/Subjects:Students from the schools of medicine, nursing, and social work attended three training modules and two SP encounters focused on ACP.Measurements/Results:During academic year 2018–2019, 36 students participated in the training at University of Maryland. Results demonstrated statistically significant improvements in ACP self-efficacy, MT1 = 2.9 (standard deviation [SD]T1 = 0.61) compared with MT3 = 3.9 (SDT3 = 0.51), p < 0.001, and CSES, MT1 = 4.6 (SDT1 = 1.35) versus MT3 = 7.3 (SDT3 = 0.51), p < 0.001, from T1 to T3. There was a medium-to-large improvement in knowledge from an average score of 4.3 (SD = 1.0) at T1 to an average score of 5.5 (SD = 1.4) at T2, p = 0.005, d = 0.67.Conclusions:Our interprofessional training module and SP encounter was successful in improving medical, social work, and nursing students' self-reported communication skills and knowledge regarding ACP.

“Accept All Pupils as they are. Diversity!” – Pre-Service Primary Teachers’ Views, Experiences, Knowledge, and Skills of Multilingualism in Education

Summary Schools across Europe are experiencing a growing number of multilingual pupils; however, teachers claim to be generally underprepared for dealing with this ever-increasing linguistic and cultural diversity. Initial teacher education often pays insufficient attention to multilingualism, thus there is a call for research on what pre-service teachers learn about the topic during training. Against this background, this small-scale exploratory study sets out to explore pre-service primary teachers’ (a) views of multilingualism in education in general, (b) experiences of multilingualism in education as trainee teachers, and (c) self-perceived knowledge and skills acquired and developed during training, in the context of the Netherlands. Based on 195 survey responses, descriptive statistical analyses indicate that the sampled pre-service primary teachers have slightly positive views of multilingualism in education, specifically regarding their opinions on the role of multilingualism in education, focusing on school and home languages, and their tolerance of multilingualism in the classroom and at school. A qualitative content analysis reveals that several pre-service primary teachers have had general experiences of teaching pupils with migrant backgrounds, such as in transition classes (Dutch: schakelklassen), and of teaching pupils who communicate with each other only in their home languages. Challenges in teaching multilingual pupils are also reported, such as the implications of being unable to understand pupils’ home languages. Regarding their self-perceived knowledge and skills, the content analysis shows that some pre-service primary teachers in this study are aware of how to encourage collaboration between multilingual pupils to involve their languages in their learning, and have knowledge of language comparison and awareness approaches that can be implemented in multilingual classrooms. A concerning finding, however, is that according to pre-service primary teachers’ self-reported communication skills for multilingual pupils, there is a tendency to use simplified language, which may have a negative impact on pupils’ language development. These findings highlight the need for further research that employs a mixed-methods longitudinal approach to gain insights into the depth of knowledge and skills acquired during training and how views of multilingualism in education influence classroom practices. This study further reveals shortcomings of primary teacher education in the Netherlands regarding the topic of multilingualism, which are followed up by preliminary recommendations for improving training programmes; for instance, training institutions should aim to collaborate with more multilingual schools where pre-service teachers can gain first-hand practical experience.

The use of drama and theatre in enhancing communication skills of psychiatry trainees: a pilot study

AimsVarious methods have been employed in the development of communication skills. This pilot study was designed to assess the acceptability, feasibility and cost-effectiveness of a specially designed workshop exploring the use of drama and theatre in enhancing the self-reported communication skills of psychiatry trainees. As a secondary aim, it assessed if the value of the improvements translated both into clinical practice and to training situations, including success in the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCPsych) Clinical Assessment of Skills and Competencies (CASC) examination.MethodA three-day drama and theatre workshop was organised in the West Midlands Deanery in conjunction with specialist instructors from performing arts at the Hearth Centre, Birmingham. The Tension State technique developed by Jacques Lecoq and Forum Theatre approach, were some of the methods employed to enable participants to develop the softer, but essential communication skills required for effective practice. Work was also undertaken focussing on self-regulation. Fourteen trainees completed the first day of the workshop. This pilot study utilised a mixed methodology to evaluate participants’ views of the perceived impact of using drama and theatre to enhance their communication skills. Feedback was obtained from organisers and facilitators specifically relating to feasibility and cost effectiveness. Data were collected from participants using pre and post-workshop questionnaires and focus groups.ResultAll participants reported a positive and enjoyable experience, indicating that the approach was acceptable to those involved. The facilitators deemed this more novel approach to enhancing communication skills feasible, and cost effective and concluded that there was scope to incorporate it into routine psychiatry training in the area. It was however identified that the content of the workshop could be condensed, reducing the length therefore to two days. There was a notable increase in participants’ self-reported confidence in their communication skills post compared to pre-workshop. Trainees reported utilising the techniques in day-to-day practice. All of those participants who undertook the CASC examination during the workshop were successful, although it would be too presumptive to assume a causative effect. The workshop was completed without any adverse events and there were no concerns from a safety perspective.ConclusionDrama and theatre, as a novel approach, appears to have noticeable benefits in enhancing the communication skills of psychiatry trainees. The success of this pilot study in demonstrating acceptability, feasibility and cost effectiveness, suggests that drama and theatre techniques could be easily incorporated into psychiatry training and potentially other medical education programmes.

Implementing Automated Triggers to Identify Hospitalized Patients with Possible Unmet Palliative Needs: Assessing the Impact of This Systems Approach on Clinicians.

Background: Understanding patients' goals and values is important to ensure goal-concordant care; however, such discussions can be challenging. Little is known about the impact of having these discussions on hospitalists. Objective: To assess the impact on hospitalists of a system that reminds them to have serious illness conversations with their patients identified with potential unmet palliative needs. Design: Two group cohort trial. Setting/Subjects: Single academic center. Internal medicine hospitalist physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician's assistants. Measurements: Before the trial, all participants received serious illness conversation training. During the trial, hospitalists on intervention units received verbal notification when their recently admitted patients were identified using a computer algorithm as having possible unmet palliative needs. Hospitalists on the control unit received no notifications. At baseline and three months, hospitalists completed questionnaires regarding communication skill acquisition, perception of the importance of these conversations, and sense of the meaning gained from having them. Results: Both groups had similar improvements in their self-reported communication skills and experienced a small decline in how important they felt the conversations were. Neither group perceived having the discussions as being affectively harmful to patients. The intervention hospitalists, over time, reported a slight reduction in the sense of meaning they achieved from the conversations. Conclusion: Routinely informing hospitalists when their patients were identified as being at increased risk for unmet palliative needs did not increase the sense of meaning these providers achieved. It is likely the pretrial training accounted for many of the positive outcomes in communication skills observed in both arms of the trial.

Improving Intraoperative Communication in Trauma: The Educational Effect of the Joint DSTC™-DATC™ Courses.

Operative management of severe trauma requires excellent communication among team members. The surgeon and anesthesiologist need to interact efficiently, exchanging vital information. The Definitive Surgical Trauma Care (DSTC) and Definitive Anesthesia Trauma Care (DATC) courses provide an excellent opportunity for teamwork training. Our goal was to study the impact of the joint DSTC-DATC courses in candidates' self-reported assessment in communication skills and techniques in a simulated intraoperative trauma scenario. Study population consists of 93 candidates (67 surgeons and 26 anesthesiologists) participating in four consecutive joint DSTC-DATC courses in May and June 2019 in Brazil (3) and in Portugal (1). Median age was 30years; 53 (60%) of subjects were male (46 senior residents and 47 specialists). All participants attended joint lectures, case discussions and surgical skills session, emphasizing intraoperative communication. Post-course survey on several aspects of perioperative communication (responses on a Likert scale) was conducted with participants being asked which aspects of intraoperative communication they valued the most. All participants responded to the survey. Results displayed an increase in the self-assessed importance of team briefing and intraoperative communication, particularly routine periodic communication, rather than only at critical moments. Postoperative team debriefing was also valued as highly relevant. Closed-loop and direct, by-name communication were highly rated. Self-reported communication skills improved significantly during the course. Joint training in the DSTC-DATC courses improved candidates' perception and skills on proficient intraoperative communication. Further studies should address both the durability of these changes and the potential impact on patient care.

Evaluating the short-term and long-term effects of an internet-based aural rehabilitation programme for hearing aid users in general clinical practice: a randomised controlled trial

ObjectiveGuided internet-based intervention beyond hearing aid (HA) fitting has been shown to be efficacious in randomised controlled trials (RCTs). However, internet interventions have rarely been applied clinically as a part...

Development of a Comprehensive Communication Skills Curriculum for Pediatrics Residents.

Effective communication is an essential element of medical care and a priority of medical education. Specific interventions to teach communication skills are at the discretion of individual residency programs. We developed the Resident Communication Skills Curriculum (RCSC), a formal curriculum designed to teach trainees the communication skills essential for high-quality practice. A multidisciplinary working group contributed to the development of the RCSC, guided by an institutional needs assessment, literature review, and the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education core competencies. The result was a cohesive curriculum that incorporates didactic, role play, and real-life experiences over the course of the entire training period. Methods to assess curricular outcomes included self-reporting, surveys, and periodic faculty evaluations of the residents. Curricular components have been highly rated by residents (3.95-3.97 based on a 4-point Likert scale), and residents' self-reported communication skills demonstrated an improvement over the course of residency in the domains of requesting a consultation, providing effective handoffs, handling conflict, and having difficult conversations (intern median 3.0, graduate median 4.0 based on a 5-point Likert scale, P ≤ .002). Faculty evaluations of residents have also demonstrated improvement over time (intern median 3.0, graduate median 4.5 based on a 5-point Likert scale, P < .001). A comprehensive, integrated communication skills curriculum for pediatrics residents was implemented, with a multistep evaluative process showing improvement in skills over the course of the residency program. Positive resident evaluations and informal comments from faculty support its general acceptance. The use of existing resources makes this curriculum feasible.

Student self-reported communication skills, knowledge and confidence across standardised patient, virtual and traditional clinical learning environments.

BackgroundAdvanced communication skills are vital for allied health professionals, yet students often have limited opportunities in which to develop them. The option of increasing clinical placement hours is unsustainable in a climate of constrained budgets, limited placement availability and increasing student numbers. Consequently, many educators are considering the potentials of alternative training methods, such as simulation. Simulations provide safe, repeatable and standardised learning environments in which students can practice a variety of clinical skills. This study investigated students’ self-rated communication skill, knowledge, confidence and empathy across simulated and traditional learning environments.MethodUndergraduate speech pathology students were randomly allocated to one of three communication partners with whom they engaged conversationally for up to 30 min: a patient in a nursing home (n = 21); an elderly trained patient actor (n = 22); or a virtual patient (n = 19). One week prior to, and again following the conversational interaction, participants completed measures of self-reported communication skill, knowledge and confidence (developed by the authors based on the Four Habit Coding Scheme), as well as the Jefferson Scale of Empathy – Health Professionals (student version).ResultsAll three groups reported significantly higher communication knowledge, skills and confidence post-placement (Median d = .58), while the degree of change did not vary as a function of group membership (Median η2 < .01). In addition, only students interacting with a nursing home resident reported higher empathy after the placement. Students reported that conversing with the virtual patient was more challenging than conversing with a nursing home patient or actor, and students appeared to derive the same benefit from the experience.ConclusionsParticipants self-reported higher communication skill, knowledge and confidence, though not empathy, following a brief placement in a virtual, standardised or traditional learning environment. The self-reported increases were consistent across the three placement types. It is proposed that the findings from this study provide support for the integration of more sustainable, standardised, virtual patient-based placement models into allied health training programs for the training of communication skills.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0577-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

A cross-sectional study on person-centred communication in the care of older people: the COMHOME study protocol

IntroductionThis paper presents an international cross-sectional study on person-centred communication with older people receiving healthcare (COMHOME). Person-centred care relies on effective communication, but few studies have explored this with a...

A Multisite, Multi–Academic Track Evaluation of End-of-Life Simulation for Nursing Education

BackgroundOpportunities for students to care for end-of-life patients are limited in undergraduate nursing programs. MethodStudents participated in a quasi-experimental study evaluating knowledge, levels of self-confidence, and self-reported communication skills in caring for a dying patient, as well as satisfaction with the high-fidelity simulation. ResultsThe convenience sample of 370 associate’s degree, traditional baccalaureate, and accelerated baccalaureate nursing students demonstrated a significant increase in knowledge, regardless of role played in the scenario, as well as high levels of self-confidence, self-reported communication skills, and satisfaction with the pedagogical approach. ConclusionsResults showed significantly enhanced student knowledge in end-of-life care. Findings support end-of-life simulation as a strong and viable pedagogical approach to learning.

An Interprofessional Approach to Teaching Communication Skills

Recent research suggests that effective interprofessional communication and collaboration can positively influence patient satisfaction and outcomes. Health professional communication skills do not necessarily improve over time but can improve with formal communication skills training (CST). This article describes the development, evaluation, and lessons learned for a novel theater-based role-play CST program designed to improve community cancer care for patients and families by enhancing health care professionals' communication skills. Four 2-hour interprofessional communication skills workshops for Nova Scotia health professionals were developed. Topics were (1) Essential Communication Skills, (2) Delivering Difficult News and Providing Support, (3) When Patients and Families Are Angry, and (4) Managing Conflict in the Workplace. Strategies for enhancing communication skills based on the science (evidence-based practice and teaching) and the art (interactive theater) of communication skills were included. Facilitators included professional actors, communication skills facilitators, and trained health professionals. We used a mixed-methods evaluation design assessing 4 levels of educational outcomes at 3 points: pre- and post-workshop and follow-up. Five hundred eighteen professionals representing over 20 health professions attended 17 workshops. Data showed the workshops were well received, despite some discomfort with role-playing. Pre/post paired t-tests of self-reported communication skills showed significant improvement after all workshops (p ≤ 0.05); 92% indicated intended changes to their communication practice immediately following the workshops. Of 68 respondents to the follow-up, 59 (87%) reported positive changes in the responses of their patients. Both positive and negative lessons learned are described.

The Relationship Between Personality Types, Communication Skills and Learning Attitudes in Premedical Students

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between the personality types of premedical students and their self-assessed communication skills and attitudes toward a communication skills course. Methods: The participants were 59 second-year premedical students from Korea University College of Medicine. The Myers-Briggs type indicator (MBTI), which was validated in Korea, was used for evaluating personality types. Self-reported competency in communication and attitudes toward a communication skills course were measured by questionnaire. Results: Sensing (S) and thinking (T) personality types were predominant in this study group (76%). The relationship between the personality indicator ‘Extraversion (E)-Introversion (I)’ and the selfreported communication skills was statistically significant for four items of communication skills. Also, the personality indicator ‘Thinking (T)-Feeling (F)’ significantly correlated with one item: ask if the person has any further suggestions. Personality ‘I’ students showed more concern with regard to their communication skills than ‘E’ types. ‘Sensing (S)’-type students had a more positive attitude toward the communication skills course than “iNtuition (N)” types. Conclusion: Students’ self-assessed competence in communication and attitudes toward the communication skills course varied between personality types. These results suggest that the personality types of students should be considered in developing a communication skills course.

Comparing self-reported communication skills of medical students in traditional and integrated curricula: A nationwide study

Objectives: To investigate medical students’ self-assessments of their communication skills through medical school related to background factors, curriculum design and perceived medical school stress. Methods: Medical students at all year levels attending Norwegian universities in the spring of 2003 were mailed the Oslo Inventory of Self-reported Communication Skills (OSISCS) developed by the authors. Of the total number of students ( N = 3055), 60% responded. One school had a traditional curriculum, the other three ran integrated models. Results: Students assessed their instrumental communication skills to increase linearly year by year, while the relational skills showed a curve-linear trajectory reaching the optimum level half-way into the curriculum. Students attending the traditional school reported lower levels of instrumental skills compared to the students from the integrated schools. In relational skills, a similar difference was maintained half-way into the curriculum, but disappeared towards the end. Perceived medical school stress correlated to the self-reported end point levels of the two types of communication skills. Discussion: The trajectories of self-reported instrumental and relational skills indicate significant variations in facilitating mechanisms between curricula, cognitive processing and perceived medical school stress. Conclusions: Self-reported instrumental and relational communication skills develop differently in medical students over the years according to the type of curriculum. Practice implications: Curricula should be evaluated for improvement implementations.