Evaluation of a Communication Skills Training for Nurses

NCT05700929 | Active Not Recruiting

• 1 other identifier: 1047/136
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 207
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The KOMPAT study aims to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of a needs-based communication skills training for nursing professionals in Germany and to derive recommendations for future long-term implementation. Therefore, a training program to foster communication skills of nursing professionals has been developed based on a previously conducted needs assessment and literature research. To evaluate the training a randomized controlled trail with a waitlist-control group will be conducted. It is aimed to include 180 nurses within the study, of which 90 nurse will be randomized in a stratified manner to the intervention group and 90 nurses will be randomized to the waitlist-control group. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, post -training and 4-weeks follow-up. It is hypothesized that self-efficacy in communication with patients and further outcomes will be significantly higher among participants in the intervention group compared to participants of the waitlist-control group during post-training assessment and follow-up. The evaluation will be accompanied by a process evaluation. The training will be facilitated by a member of the research team and a nursing professional by applying the train-the-trainer approach. The KOMPAT study will be conducted at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf.

Conditions

Communication

Keywords

Nursing; Communication skills; Communication skills training; Patient-centered; Train-the-trainer; Health Services Research; Implementation Research; Hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation trial; Randomized controlled trial; Mixed Methods; Self-Efficacy

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Self-efficacy regarding communication with patients

  Description: Self-efficacy of nurses in the context of communication with their patients will be measured by the German version of the 12-item Self-Efficacy Scale (SE-12-G). Items on this one-dimensional scale can be answered on a scale from 1 ("very uncertain") to 10 ("very certain") with an additional option to rate items as "not relevant".

  Change from baseline (t0) at immediately after the training (t1) (with t1 being the primary endpoint) and at four weeks after the training (t2) for the intervention and waitlist-control group.

Secondary Outcomes (12)

• Rating of the training

  immediately after the training (t1) for the intervention group

• Subjective knowledge about patient-centered communication

  Change from baseline (t0) at immediately after the training (t1) and at four weeks after the training (t2) for the intervention and waitlist-control group

• Objective knowledge about patient-centered communication

  Change from baseline (t0) at immediately after the training (t1) and at four weeks after the training (t2) for the intervention and waitlist-control group

• Attitudes towards medical communication

  Change from baseline (t0) at four weeks after the training (t2) for the intervention and waitlist-control group

• Communication skills of nurses from external observers' perspective after participation in a SPA

  four weeks after the training (t2) for the intervention and waitlist-control group

Other Outcomes (2)

• Process evaluation

  through study completion and until approximately June 2025

• Demographic items

  baseline (t0) for the intervention and waitlist-control group

Study Arms (2)

Communication skills training

EXPERIMENTAL

The intervention is a one-day face-to-face training to foster patient-centered communication skills of nursing professionals at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany. The training is developed based on results of a previously conducted needs assessment with nurses, medical assistants and nursing service managers as well as literature research and will be rolled out after baseline assessment and randomization.

Behavioral: Communication skills training for nurses

Waitlist-control group

NO INTERVENTION

Participants of the waitlist-control group receive no specific study related intervention. Participants of this group will be offered a communication skills training after complete data collection of all participants of the RCT has been finished.

Interventions

Communication skills training for nurses BEHAVIORAL

Aim of the developed training will be to foster patient-centered communication skills of nursing professionals in Germany. The training consists of four modules in which participating nurses will get information regarding patient-centeredness and general communication techniques. Participants will also learn how to response to patients in escalating situations and how to communicate with seriously ill or dying patients. The underlying framework for the training is the Calgary-Cambridge Guide, a well-known model for structuring conversation with patients. Different didactic techniques (i.e. roll-play, video sequences, group discussion) will be applied. The training will be provided in small groups of 10-14 participants each. Two facilitators will give the training, one of them being a nursing professional trained according to the train-the-trainer approach, the other being a member of the research group, who was involved in the development of the training.

Communication skills training

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• Nurses working at the participating departments of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf
• Main part of daily work includes communication with patients
• Age ≥ 18 years
• Completed educational program as a nurse
• German-speaking

You may not qualify if:

• Little or no contact with patients in daily work, e.g. an operating room nurse or within the bed management

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf: lead

Study Sites (1)

University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf

Hamburg, 20246, Germany

Location

Related Publications (1)

• Lindig A, Mielke K, Frerichs W, Collen K, Kriston L, Harter M, Scholl I. Evaluation of a patient-centered communication skills training for nurses (KOMPAT): study protocol of a randomized controlled trial. BMC Nurs. 2024 Jan 2;23(1):2. doi: 10.1186/s12912-023-01660-8.

  PMID: 38163904 DERIVED

Related Links

• Related Info

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Communication

Interventions

Nurses

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Health Personnel; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: HEALTH SERVICES RESEARCH
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Prof.Dr.

Model Details: This study is a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation trial, conducted as a two-armed randomized controlled trial including a comprehensive process evaluation for future implementation. After baseline assessment, participants will be randomized to the intervention group or the waitlist-control group. Randomization will be performed using stratified permuted block randomization. The waitlist-control group are offered to participate in the communication skills training after data collection has been finished.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: November 16, 2022
• First Posted: January 26, 2023
• Study Start: November 14, 2022
• Primary Completion: October 31, 2024
• Study Completion: November 30, 2024
• Last Updated: August 1, 2024

Record last verified: 2024-07

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

DE (1)