Communication skills training for health care professionals working with cancer patients, their families and/or carers

Fellowes, Deborah; Wilkinson, Sue; Moore, Philippa

doi:10.1002/14651858.cd003751

Cited by 96 publications

(105 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…An increased body of evidence in cancer care shows that communication skills of physicians can be improved after well designed, skill-focused, practiceoriented, and learnercentered communication skills training programs. [22][23][24] However, to date, no study of cancer care has assessed the impact of skills acquisition after a communication skills training program on physicians' detection of cancer patients' distress.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors that influence physicians' detection of distress in patients with cancer

Merckaert

Libert

Delvaux

et al. 2005

Cancer

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Objective In vitro observations and studies in murine experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) have shown protective effects of sodium channel blockers on central nervous system axons and improved clinical status when treatment is continued throughout the period of observation. Several clinical studies of sodium channel blockers are under way in patients with multiple sclerosis. Here we asked whether a protective effect would persist after withdrawal of a sodium channel blocker. Methods We studied a mouse model of myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein–induced EAE treated with phenytoin or carbamazepine. Results Both phenytoin and carbamazepine significantly improved the clinical course of the disease. Withdrawal of phenytoin resulted in acute exacerbation, accompanied by a significantly increased inflammatory infiltrate within the central nervous system and the death of nearly 60% of EAE mice. There were no clinical worsening or deaths in control mice after withdrawal of phenytoin. Withdrawal of carbamazepine led to acute worsening of EAE symptoms, increased inflammatory infiltrate, and was associated with the death of 8% of mice. Interpretation These results, together with results showing effects of sodium channel blockers in immune cells, raise questions about the long‐term effects of sodium channel blockers in neuroinflammatory disorders, and suggest that clinical studies of sodium channel blockers in these disorders should be planned carefully. Ann Neurol 2007

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors that influence physicians' detection of distress in patients with cancer

Merckaert

Libert

Delvaux

et al. 2005

Cancer

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“…To be effective, communication and stress management skills training programs have to be composed of learnercentered methods [35,36] including a cognitive, a behavioral, and an affective approach [10,[37][38][39][40][41]. The cognitive approach aims to improve physicians' knowledge about effective communication skills (e.g., using open directive questions, clarification of psychological aspects, and empathy) [28] and stress management skills (e.g., selfmonitoring of stress intensity, relaxation techniques, cognitive coping skills, and self-management skills such as time management) [40][41][42][43][44][45][46].…”

Section: Objectives and Teaching Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching communication and stress management skills to junior physicians dealing with cancer patients: a Belgian Interuniversity Curriculum

Bragard

Razavi

Marchal

et al. 2006

Support Care Cancer

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“…22,[29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] Treatment of distressing symptoms by interdisciplinary palliative care and hospice teams translates to reduced medical complications and hospital utilization. 12,13,[40][41][42] In addition to symptom management, palliative care providers have expertise in the conduct of conversations with patients and families dedicated to assuring understanding of what to expect in the future, including prognosis and the resulting goals of care.…”

Section: Palliative Care and Hospicementioning

confidence: 99%

Research Priorities in Geriatric Palliative Care: Policy Initiatives

Unroe

Meier

2013

Journal of Palliative Medicine

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Coordinated palliative care matched to patient needs improves quality of care for vulnerable patients with serious illness and reduces costly use of hospitals and emergency departments. Unfortunately, there is a disconnect in translating geriatric palliative care models and principles into policy and widespread practice. Gaps in policy-relevant research are addressed, including implementation strategies to scale up existing care models, the role of palliative care and geriatrics in health care payment reform efforts, development of quality measures for complex patients, strategies to address workforce shortages, and an approach to hospice reform.''I told the doctor that I never wanted to go back to the hospital again. It's torture-you have no control and can't do anything for yourself. And you get weaker and sicker. Every time I'm in the hospital it feels like I'll never get out.'' This 88-year-old man with mild dementia presents to the emergency department for management of back pain due to spinal stenosis and arthritis. He had been admitted to the hospital four times in the past six months-twice for pain, once for weight loss and falls, and once for altered mental status due to constipation. His overwhelmed 83-year-old wife tells the emergency department physician, ''He hates being in the hospital, but what could I do? The pain was terrible and I couldn't reach the doctor. I couldn't even move him myself, so I called the ambulance. It was the only thing I could do.'' T he fields of palliative care and geriatrics have developed a growing body of evidence in support of customized care models aimed at meeting the needs of frail, vulnerable, and seriously ill patient populations. The problem is not that we don't know what to do-the problem is that we don't do what we know. The business of translating evidence into real-world practice for frail older adults is critically dependent on changes in public and payment policy. As in any aspect of health care, gaps do remain in our understanding of treatments and the optimal approach to delivering services to vulnerable populations. Allocation of research dollars to address these questions is an urgent public health priority. Health care spending in the United States not only fails to deliver quality but quite realistically poses the greatest threat to the American economy and way of life-the 18% of GDP in dollars spent on high cost, low value health care cannot be allocated to other crucial public needs: education, repair of roads and bridges, food and air quality and safety, and protection from the consequences of rising income inequality and poverty. The good news here is that improving quality of care for high risk, vulnerable patients-so that the patient described above does not have to turn to the emergency department for every symptom crisis, but instead receives coordinated palliative care matched to his changing needs at home-leads to much lower need for spending in emergency departments and hospitals. It is critical that federal, state, and local regulat...

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Communication skills training for health care professionals working with cancer patients, their families and/or carers

Abstract: The training programmes assessed by these trials appear to be effective in improving cancer care professionals communication skills. It is not known whether the training would be effective if taught by other educators, nor has any trial compared the efficacy of both programmes.

Cited by 96 publications

References 50 publications

Factors that influence physicians' detection of distress in patients with cancer

Factors that influence physicians' detection of distress in patients with cancer

Teaching communication and stress management skills to junior physicians dealing with cancer patients: a Belgian Interuniversity Curriculum

Research Priorities in Geriatric Palliative Care: Policy Initiatives

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