1. Patient-Centered Communication for a People-First Mindset:
Adapting Trainings for Healthcare Contexts
Grace ellen brannon, M.A.
Texas A&M University
Fostering healing relationships
Exchanging information
Responding to emotions
Managing uncertainty
Making decisions
Enabling patient self-management
Overview
Communication Training Needs and Benefits
Interactive ability awareness workshops have been developed for faculty/staff at Texas A&M University that promote positive, equitable, accepting attitudes towards people with disabilities on campus. The workshop covers many topics: background, legal requirements of disability accommodations, preconceived notions and biases, modifications, effective course design, and the principles of universal design for learning. While this workshop addresses many important issues, there is presently a need for context-specific training, in particular in improving communication. This project examines how modifying the current ability workshop for healthcare-specific contexts on a university campus using Epstein and Street's (2007; 2011) model of patient-centered care can create an environment of patient-centered communication with a people-first mindset.
Medical students need communication training in:
Providing patient-centered communication
Increasing awareness of needs and inclusivity related to disabilities
Breaking stigma-related barriers on disability
Facilitating discussions on disability-related issues with the patient
Involving the patient in healthcare decisions
Understanding the patient’s individual context
Facilitating discussions on disability-related issues with healthcare team
Increasing healthcare practitioner communication competence early in the career benefits:
Individual patients
Patients’ family members (sometimes caretakers)
Student (future physician)
Healthcare team
Competent healthcare practitioners can foster:
Improved health outcomes
Improved societal outcomes
Improved communication outcomes
More specifically:
Positive interpersonal relationships with patients/family/healthcare team
Disability self-management
Sense of self-efficacy and control
Feelings of empowerment
Patient knowledge/understanding
Better medical decisions for the patient/family
Patient-
Centered
Communication Processes
Areas of Interest
Improving communication and helping (future) practitioners through trainings will help individuals with disabilities have and utilize their own voice, which is particularly important for individuals who may not currently feel that they have self-advocacy, any feelings of empowerment, or self-efficacy (Leyser et al., 2011; Rao, 2002).
Information exchange involves practitioner-patient negotiation of a shared understanding of both medical and personal issues on a patient’s health condition.
Enabling patient self-management focuses on assisting patients in problem-solving related to their health conditions, and empowers them to take some actions to improve their own health.
It is through these examples that this project not only seeks to advance practices in two specific communities with a context-specific communication training, but also support and service individuals with disabilities in order to improve health outcomes and self-advocacy.
References
Dimoska, A., Butow, P. N., Lynch, J., Hovey, E., Agar, M., Beale, P., & Tattersall, M. H. (2012). Implementing patient question-prompt lists into routine cancer care. Patient Education & Counseling, 86(2), doi: /j.pec
Epstein, R.M., & Street, R.L., Jr. (2007). Patient-centered communication in cancer care: Promoting healing and reducing suffering. National Cancer Institute, NIH Publication No Bethesda, MD.
Leyser, Y., Greenberger, L., Sharoni, V., & Vogel, G. (2011). Students with disabilities in teacher education: changes in faculty attitudes toward accommodations over ten years. International Journal of Special Education, 26(1), 162e174.
Rao, S. M. (2002). Students with disabilities in higher education: Faculty attitudes and willingness to provide accommodations (Doctoral dissertation, University of Arkansas, 2002).
Street, R. L., Cox, V., Kallen, M. A., & Suarez-Almazor, M. E. (2012). Exploring communication pathways to better health: Clinician communication of expectations for acupuncture effectiveness. Patient Education & Counseling, 89(2), doi: /j.pec
Street, R. L., Makoul, G., Arora, N.K., Epstein, R.M. (2009). How does communication heal? Pathways linking clinician–patient communication to health outcomes. Patient Education Counseling, 74:295–301.
Staal, J.B., Rainville, J., Fritz, J., van MW, Pransky, G. (2005). Physical exercise interventions to improve disability and return to work in low back pain: current insights and opportunities for improvement. J Occupational Rehabilitation,15:491–505.