Improving Discharge Communication in the Emergency Department Through Information Structuring

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Information Structuring Skills; Empathy Skills
• Interventions: Behavioral: Communication skills training "information structuring skills"; Behavioral: Communication skills training "empathy skills"

• Registration Number: NCT02468869
• Lead Sponsor: University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

Brief Summary

The goal of the proposed study is to assess the potential of information structuring for improving discharge communication. Specifically, the investigators aim to examine the advantages of an information-structuring skills training for physicians (compared to an empathy skills training) on discharge communication and associated patient outcomes, such as patients' information recall and adherence to physician recommendations. The investigators hypothesize that patients receiving structured discharge information from their trained physicians will be able to recall more information and show higher adherence to recommendations relative to controls (i.e., patients receiving discharge information from doctors trained in empathy skills).

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2015-04
• Study First Submitted: 2015-05-27
• Study First Submitted QC: 2015-06-08
• Study First Posted: 2015-06-11
• Primary Completion: 2017-04
• Study Completion: 2017-04
• Status Verified: 2018-10
• Last Update Submitted: 2018-10-22
• Last Update Posted: 2018-10-23

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 196

Inclusion Criteria

• Outpatients with chest pain
• Outpatients with abdominal pain

Exclusion criteria:

• Patients younger than 18 years of age (limited ability to provide informed consent)
• Patients with limited ability to communicate in German, the default language at the hospital (confounder related to language proficiency)
• Patients with dementia (confounder arising from pathological memory deficits)

Exclusion Criteria

Not provided

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: PARALLEL

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Information structuring skills training	Communication skills training "information structuring skills"	Physicians received a communication skills training focusing on information structuring with the so-called book metaphor for a structured discharge communication with the patient.
Empathy skills training	Communication skills training "empathy skills"	Physicians received a communication skills training focusing on empathy skills with the acronym NURSE for an empathetic discharge communication with the patient.

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Patients' recall of the information provided during discharge communication	3 times: immediately after discharge, one week after discharge, one month after discharge

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Patient satisfaction in four dimensions	Immediately after discharge	(1) comprehension, (2) structuredness (3) recommendation of the physician to family and friends (4) informativeness
Adherence to recommendations	2 times: one week and one month after discharge

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

University Hospital Basel, Emergency Department; 🇨🇭 Basel, Baselstadt, Switzerland