Enhancing Communication Related to Symptom Management Through Plain Language

Wittenberg, Elaine; Goldsmith, Joy; Ferrell, Betty; Platt, Christine Small

doi:10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2015.06.007

Cited by 23 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 16 publications

(15 reference statements)

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“…Teach-Back is a communication strategy endorsed by the American Medical Association and Joint Commission and recent research has shown that use of the Teach-Back method improves patient-centered communication and increases participation with healthcare providers (Badaczewski et al, 2017). The Plain Language Planner for Palliative Care © (PLP) is a tool for communicating about oncology, palliative care, and cancer treatment side effects in plain language at the 6 th grade level (The COMFORT Communication Project, 2016) and use of the PLP has been shown to reduce the use of jargons for nurses (Wittenberg, Goldsmith, Ferrell, & Platt, 2015). Future research is still needed to address nurses’ efficacy of these tools as well as determine impact on patient outcomes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Literacy: Exploring Nursing Challenges to Providing Support and Understanding

Wittenberg

Ferrell

Kanter

et al. 2018

CJON

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A majority of the nurses reported communication challenges with patients who spoke English as a second language. Oncology nurses did not identify patient communication behaviors that indicated low health literacy. Nurses were least comfortable identifying low-literacy patients and assessing a patient's health literacy level. More experienced nurses reported more difficulty with low-literacy populations than less experienced nurses. Providing health literacy support to patients should be a core nursing skill.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Literacy: Exploring Nursing Challenges to Providing Support and Understanding

Wittenberg

Ferrell

Kanter

et al. 2018

CJON

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“…About communication, educational initiatives intended to develop the communication skills of HCPs (Wittenberg et al., 2015) and promote caring attitudes (O'Hare, 2018) are warranted. For patients, innovative technologies may be used to facilitate assessments and information sharing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Challenges encountered by patients with end‐stage kidney disease in accessing symptom management services: A narrative inquiry

Hui

Law

et al. 2020

Journal of Advanced Nursing

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Aim To understand the storied experiences of accessing symptom management services of patients with end‐stage kidney disease (ESKD) who are receiving maintenance dialysis. Design Narrative inquiry. Methods Ten patients with ESKD who were receiving dialysis were recruited at two regional hospitals in Hong Kong and interviewed three times each between July 2017–July 2018 to capture their narratives. The data were analysed using the narrative inquiry approach from the perspective of Levesque's framework of access to care. Results Five themes emerged from the participants’ narratives. The first theme illustrated access to care as a process by which symptom management needs were met. However, clinicians occasionally identified patients based on their diseases instead of their needs and this process was affected differently by interpersonal and system factors. The themes ‘building trust’ and ‘facilitating communication’ described interpersonal factors that were essential to maintaining a constructive patient–clinician partnership. The themes ‘balancing efficiency’ and ‘navigating fragmented system’ described system‐related factors. Conclusions This study identified the factors that influenced the delivery and/or reception of symptom management services for patients with ESKD who were receiving dialysis. The results suggest that healthcare services should be streamlined based on patients’ needs and that this process should address the important elements of trust and communication. Impact The study's results suggest potential improvements to symptom management services that would enable patients’ needs to be addressed in a timely and humanistic manner.

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“…Plain language characteristics in the INDEX include the use of personal pronouns to recognize the patient/family, employ of active voice (e.g., "when you take this, drink plenty of water," vs. "when the medicine is taken, it requires plenty of water")/specific actions to demonstrate involvement with patient, explanation of the effect of the drug on the symptom to support patient/family delivery of care/medication, limited jargon to increase understanding, and limited length of spoken utterances to present information in small units to allow for feedback. Additional items based on a previous PLP study ( Wittenberg et al, 2015 ) were utilized in the rating form as well and included disease/medication description, brand/generic explanation, use of patient name to demonstrate patient-centeredness, and use of the pocket card during the role-play. All rated items were specifically included as "plain language essentials" in the lecture participants received and were identified on the PLP pocket card.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previously, we set out to explore how the PLP would influence providers’ explanation of a medication to address a patient symptom. A comparison of written responses before and after an education session showed improvement in the use of plain language, with the greatest improvement occurring in the use of jargon ( Wittenberg, Goldsmith, Ferrell, & Platt, 2015 ). Findings from this early work suggested providers might be able to change the way they communicate about medication and symptoms after receiving brief training.…”

Section: Background On the Plain Language Toolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Plain Language Planner for Communication About Common Palliative Care Medications

Wittenberg

Ferrell

Goldsmith

2017

JADPRO

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Using plain language to communicate about oncology and palliative care medications and symptoms is recommended as a communication strategy to address patient/family health literacy demands. This study tested the Plain Language Planner©, a provider tool for communicating about medication and symptoms using plain language. Prior to and immediately following an oncology and palliative care nurse educational session, participants (n = 87) role-played about a symptom and medication. Common symptoms (nausea, constipation, and anxiety) and medications were selected. Self-evaluation and peer evaluation addressing the extent of plain language used during the role-play were rated. Plain language characteristics improved post educational role-play sessions for nurses. The largest improvement in plain language was the inclusion of the brand and generic names of medication in relating the drug to the symptom. The pocket guide provided during the educational session was consulted by 86% of nurses during the postsession role-play. Brief training with the Plain Language Planner may improve provider communication and meet patient/family health literacy needs. This resource may be a valuable asset to other health-care disciplines working in oncology and palliative care contexts.

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Enhancing Communication Related to Symptom Management Through Plain Language

Abstract: Provider training with the tool produced increased plain language. Use of the tool in provider education shows promise in increasing the health literacy for patients and families regarding symptom management.

Cited by 23 publications

References 16 publications

Health Literacy: Exploring Nursing Challenges to Providing Support and Understanding

Health Literacy: Exploring Nursing Challenges to Providing Support and Understanding

Challenges encountered by patients with end‐stage kidney disease in accessing symptom management services: A narrative inquiry

Assessing the Plain Language Planner for Communication About Common Palliative Care Medications

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