Communication during the COVID-19 pandemic: evaluation study on self-perceived competences and views of health care professionals

Schlögl, Mathias; Singler, Katrin; Martínez‐Velilla, Nicolás; Schildmann, Jan; Bischoff‐Ferrari, Heike A.; Roller‐Wirnsberger, Regina; Attier-Zmudka, Jadwiga; Jones, Christopher A.; Miot, Stéphanie; Gordon, Adam L

doi:10.1007/s41999-021-00532-1

Cited by 9 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Most studies evaluated more than one psychosocial hazard or stressor associated with the use of PPE. Of the stressors assessed, over half of the articles assessed the impact of PPE on communication (16 articles, 62%) (Bandaru et al 2020 ; Bani et al 2021 ; Benítez et al 2020 ; Bottalico et al 2020 ; Brown et al 2021 ; Cheok et al 2021 ; Dastpaak et al 2019 ; Hayirli et al 2021 ; Karami et al 2020 ; Kratzke et al 2021 ; Nguyen et al 2021 ; Radonovich Jr et al 2009 ; Schlögl et al 2021 ; Singh et al 2021 ; Thomas et al 2011 ; Yi et al 2021 ). Most of these articles assessed the impact on speech intelligibility, facial and emotion recognition, and listening effort when PPE is worn.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There were fifteen articles related to communication impacts associated with respiratory PPE use (Bandaru et al 2020 ; Bani et al 2021 ; Benítez et al 2020 ; Bottalico et al 2020 ; Cheok et al 2021 ; Hayirli et al 2021 ; Kratzke et al 2021 ; Nguyen et al 2021 ; Radonovich Jr et al 2009 ; Ruba and Pollak, 2020 ; Schlögl et al 2021 ; Singh et al 2021 ; Thibodeau et al 2021 ; Thomas et al 2011 ; Yi et al 2021 ). These studies specifically investigated communication in general, emotion and facial recognition, listening effort, sentence recall, and speech intelligibility.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Facial occlusion may also have an impact on verbal and nonverbal communication. The majority of evidence from the studies reviewed reported negative impacts on communication, specifically emotion and facial recognition (Bani et al 2021 ; Ruba and Pollak 2020 ), speech intelligibility (Bottalico et al 2020 ; Nguyen et al 2021 ; Radonovich Jr et al 2009 ; Thomas et al 2011 ), speech perception and listening effort (Bandaru et al 2020 ), and communication in general (Benítez et al 2020 ; Cheok et al 2021 ; Hayirli et al 2021 ; Kratzke et al 2021 ; Schlögl et al 2021 ; Singh et al 2021 ). In situations where the use of masks or respirators are needed there may be an increased risk of stress due to partial facial occlusion and impaired communication with others.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The contribution of respiratory and hearing protection use to psychological distress in the workplace: a scoping review

Leung

Cook

Capra

et al. 2022

Int Arch Occup Environ Health

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Objective Workers from various industries use personal protective equipment (PPE) including masks, respirators, and hearing protection to reduce their exposures to workplace hazards. Many studies have evaluated the physiological impacts of PPE use, but few have assessed the psychological impacts. The aim of the present study was to carry out a scoping review to compile existing evidence and determine the extent of knowledge on workplace mask, respirator or hearing protection use as a psychosocial hazard (stressor) that could result in a stress response and potentially lead to psychological injury. Methods The scoping review followed recognized methods and was conducted using Ovid Emcare, PubMed, Sage Journals, ScienceDirect, Scopus, SpringerLink, Google Scholar and preprint databases (OSF Preprints and medRxiv). Articles on the stressors associated with the use of masks, respirators, and hearing protection were included. The extracted data included author(s) name, year of publication, title of article, study design, population data, stressors assessed, and key findings. Results We retrieved 650 articles after removal of duplicates, of which 26 were deemed eligible for inclusion for review. Identified factors associated with PPE use that could potentially create a stress response were identified: communication impacts, physical impacts, psychological illness symptoms, cognitive impacts, and perceived PPE-related impacts. Evidence for respirators suggest that there may be psychological injury associated with their use. However, hearing protection appears to have a protective effect in reducing psychological symptoms such as anxiety, depression, and aggression. Conclusions Mask or respirator use may lead to an increase in work-related stress. Whereas hearing protection may have protective effects against psychological symptoms and improves speech intelligibility. More research is needed to better understand potential psychosocial impacts of mask, respirator and/or hearing protection use.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The contribution of respiratory and hearing protection use to psychological distress in the workplace: a scoping review

Leung

Cook

Capra

et al. 2022

Int Arch Occup Environ Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Section: Open and Sensitive Communicationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Brief training in mindful communication based on an ABC mnemonic to improve communication through PPE could be used to overcome these challenges. 67 The ABC mnemonic refers to (1) Attend mindfully–breathe in and out to center oneself prior to a visit, write names or display a portrait photo on the PPE to humanize the encounter, reflect on communication asymmetries such as expert-layperson, healthy-sick, independent-dependent, cognitively healthy-cognitively impaired and so on, be aware of one’s characteristic gestures and body language, and align them with the verbal messages; (2) Behave calmly–approach patient from the front, respect the patient’s personal space, bring oneself down to eye level and project a calm attitude, avoid body language that shows frustration, anger or impatience; and (3) Communicate clearly–introduce oneself and address patients by their names, use short, simple sentences and underline one’s words with gestures if necessary, make use of pauses and speak gently and slowly, and try mirroring the patient’s mood or tone to help them feel understood. 68 …”

Section: The Role Of Palliative Care In Covid-19mentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19, Suffering and Palliative Care: A Review

Beng

Kim

Shee

et al. 2021

Am J Hosp Palliat Care

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According to the WHO guideline, palliative care is an integral component of COVID-19 management. The relief of physical symptoms and the provision of psychosocial support should be practiced by all healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients. In this review, we aim to provide a simple outline on COVID-19, suffering in COVID-19, and the role of palliative care in COVID-19. We also introduce 3 principles of palliative care that can serve as a guide for all healthcare workers caring for COVID-19 patients, which are (1) good symptom control, (2) open and sensitive communication, and (3) caring for the whole team. The pandemic has brought immense suffering, fear and death to people everywhere. The knowledge, skills and experiences from palliative care could be used to relieve the suffering of COVID-19 patients.

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Patients and general practitioners agree that wearing masks during consultations complicates physician--patient relationships: An exploratory, qualitative study

Aurégan

Lebaron

Chapron

et al. 2023

European Journal of General Practice

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Background The physician--patient relationship plays a critical role in the quality of primary care management. The generalised wearing of surgical masks in enclosed spaces – common during the COVID-19 pandemic -- could change the communication between patients and healthcare professionals. Objectives To assess how general practitioners (GPs) and patients feel about wearing masks during a consultation and its influences on physician--patient relationship. To evaluate methods healthcare professionals could use to compensate for mask wearing during a consultation. Methods A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews based on a literature-based interview guide with GPs and patients in Brittany, France. Recruitment took place from January to October 2021 until data saturation. Two independent investigators performed an open and thematic coding and then discussed their results with a consensus procedure. Results Thirteen GPs and 11 patients were included. It appears that wearing masks complicates consultations by creating distance, impairing communication, mainly non-verbal and altering relationship quality. However, GPs and patients believed relationships were preserved, especially those with a solid foundation prior to the pandemic. GPs described having to adapt to maintain relationship. Patients worried about misunderstandings or diagnostic errors but saw the mask as a protective factor. GPs and patients described similar populations requiring vigilance, including geriatric and paediatric populations, and people with hearing impairments or learning difficulties. According to GPs, possible adaptations include speaking clearly, exaggerating non-verbal communication, temporarily removing mask while maintaining safe distance and identifying patients who need increased vigilance. Conclusion Wearing masks makes the doctor--patient relationship more complex. GPs adjusted their practice to compensate.

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Communication during the COVID-19 pandemic: evaluation study on self-perceived competences and views of health care professionals

Cited by 9 publications

References 26 publications

The contribution of respiratory and hearing protection use to psychological distress in the workplace: a scoping review

The contribution of respiratory and hearing protection use to psychological distress in the workplace: a scoping review

COVID-19, Suffering and Palliative Care: A Review

Patients and general practitioners agree that wearing masks during consultations complicates physician--patient relationships: An exploratory, qualitative study

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