Multifaceted Program to Improve Interpersonal Skills of Physicians

NCT04703816 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: EPECREM
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 146
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

To determine whether the implementation of a multifaceted training program relying on the conceptual framework of the Four Habits Model improved the communication and interpersonal skills for hospital physicians during consultations compared with control physicians receiving no intervention, the investigators will conduct a prospective randomized, controlled, open-label, two parallel arms, superiority interventional trial. The unit of randomization is the physician.

Conditions

Communication Programs; Interpersonal Skill; Physician-Patient Relations

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Four-Habits-Coding-Scheme scale score

  The primary outcome measure is the overall 4-HCS scale score. This score is computed by summing ratings for the 4-HCS individual items, ranging from 23 (i.e., less effective) to 115 (i.e., more effective). Two physicians blinded to study arm will independently rate video-recorded medical consultations using the 4-HCS. To account for inter-rater variability, we will computed average 4-HCS overall rating scores.

  The primary outcome measure will be the mean difference in the 4-HCS score at a 3-month interval between the first (3-month period beginning on date of randomization) and second wave of consultations (3-month period beginning on date of intervention).

Secondary Outcomes (5)

• Duration of medical consultation

  The outcome measure will be the mean difference in the duration at a 3-month interval between the first (3-month period beginning on date of randomization) and second wave of consultations (3-month period beginning on date of intervention).

• American Board of Internal Medicine's Patient Satisfaction Rating Scale

  The outcome measure will be the mean difference in the score at a 3-month interval between the first (3-month period beginning on date of randomization) and second wave of consultations (3-month period beginning on date of intervention).

• Therapeutic Alliance Inventory scale

  The outcome measure will be the mean difference in the score at a 3-month interval between the first (3-month period beginning on date of randomization) and second wave of consultations (3-month period beginning on date of intervention).

• 4-HCS subscale scores

  The outcome measure will be the mean difference in the score at a 3-month interval between the first (3-month period beginning on date of randomization) and second wave of consultations (3-month period beginning on date of intervention).

• Maslach Burnout Inventory multidimensional scale

  The outcome measure will be the mean difference in the score at a 3-month interval between the first (3-month period beginning on date of randomization) and second wave of consultations (3-month period beginning on date of intervention).

Study Arms (2)

Intervention arm

EXPERIMENTAL

Physicians in the intervention arm will receive the training program consisting of two half-day group workshops with a review of the skills needed to build effective patient relationships and a discussion of difficult consultations.

Other: Interpersonal Skills Multifaceted Training Program for the physician-patient relationship

Control arm

NO INTERVENTION

Physicians in the control group will not receive any specific intervention at this stage.

Interventions

Interpersonal Skills Multifaceted Training Program for the physician-patient relationship OTHER

The training program consisting of two half-day group workshops with a review of the skills needed to build effective patient relationships and a discussion of difficult consultations based on communication theory like Process-Com® and the Four Habits Model.

Also known as: The Four Habits Model

Intervention arm

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Physicians:
• Physicians board-certified in medical, surgical, or gynaecology-obstetrics specialty at Grenoble Alpes University Hospital
• Provision of written informed consent
• Patients:
• Scheduled consultation in the public sector at Grenoble Alpes University Hospital
• Patient treated in the participating physician's department
• Initial consultation for new patient
• Age ≥18 years old

You may not qualify if:

• Physicians:
• \- Problems expressing or understanding the French language for cultural or language reasons
• Patients:
• Problems expressing or understanding the French language for cultural or language reasons
• Patients who are unable to provide written informed consent, because of cognitive impairment, altered mental status, or communication impairments for medical reason
• Patient subject to a legal protection measure or unable to express their objection

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University Hospital, Grenoble: lead

Study Sites (1)

Grenoble Alpes University Hospital

Grenoble, France

Location

Related Publications (4)

• Bellier A, Chaffanjon P, Krupat E, Francois P, Labarere J. Cross-cultural adaptation of the 4-Habits Coding Scheme into French to assess physician communication skills. PLoS One. 2020 Apr 16;15(4):e0230672. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0230672. eCollection 2020.

  PMID: 32298278 BACKGROUND

• Fossli Jensen B, Gulbrandsen P, Dahl FA, Krupat E, Frankel RM, Finset A. Effectiveness of a short course in clinical communication skills for hospital doctors: results of a crossover randomized controlled trial (ISRCTN22153332). Patient Educ Couns. 2011 Aug;84(2):163-9. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2010.08.028. Epub 2010 Nov 2.

  PMID: 21050695 BACKGROUND

• Krupat E, Frankel R, Stein T, Irish J. The Four Habits Coding Scheme: validation of an instrument to assess clinicians' communication behavior. Patient Educ Couns. 2006 Jul;62(1):38-45. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2005.04.015. Epub 2005 Jun 17.

  PMID: 15964736 BACKGROUND

• Bellier A, Labarere J, Putkaradze Z, Cavalie G, Carras S, Pelen F, Paris A, Chaffanjon P. Effectiveness of a multifaceted intervention to improve interpersonal skills of physicians in medical consultations (EPECREM): protocol for a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open. 2022 Feb 15;12(2):e051600. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-051600.

  PMID: 35168969 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Communication; Social Skills

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior; Social Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: In this open label trial, the participating physicians will not be blinded to allocation. Only the physicians who will rate video-recorded consultations and the statistician will be blinded to study arm.
• Purpose: OTHER
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Model Details: Prospective, randomized (with a 1:1 allocation ratio), controlled, open-label, two parallel arms, superiority interventional trial. The unit of randomization is the physician. Randomization will be performed by minimization, taking into account the status (attending versus non-attending) and specialty (medical versus surgical) of the physician.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 17, 2020
• First Posted: January 11, 2021
• Study Start: January 4, 2021
• Primary Completion: July 1, 2021
• Study Completion: October 1, 2021
• Last Updated: November 23, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-11

Locations

FR (1)