Enhancement of the physician-patient relationship in inpatient care through a communication and interaction training for assistant and senior physicians in internal medicine

ISRCTN ISRCTN60811508
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN60811508
Secondary identifying numbers N/A
Submission date
29/10/2008
Registration date
20/11/2008
Last edited
20/11/2008
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Other
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data
Record updated in last year

Plain English summary of protocol

Not provided at time of registration

Contact information

Dr Jana Juenger
Scientific

Innere Medizin II
Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg
Im Neuenheimer Feld 410
Heidelberg
69120
Germany

Phone +48 (0)6221 563 8872
Email jana.juenger@med.uni-heidelberg.de

Study information

Study designRandomised controlled trial (single centred, single blinded)
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Not specified
Study typeTreatment
Participant information sheet Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet
Scientific titleA randomised controlled trial to enhance the physician-patient relationship in inpatient care by a communication training and supervision
Study acronymAPKIT
Study objectives1. Patient satisfaction can be enhanced by systematic communication training for physicians: patient satisfaction within the intervention group is higher after the physicians have completed their training than before the training. Patient satisfaction within the control group will not differ between pre- and post-evaluation.
2. The subjective competence assessment of communication skills of the physicians in the intervention group increases significantly after having completed the communication training
3. The improvement of communication and interaction skills of the intervention group can be shown by performance in a multi-station exercise (MSE)
4. The improvement of communication skills of the intervention group can also be shown in daily physician-patient interaction (through video analysis)
5. The communication training influences patient adherence after discharge: patients seen by physicians of the intervention group show higher adherence levels after the physicians have been trained than before
Ethics approval(s)The local medical ethics committee (Landesarztekammer Baden-Wurttemberg [Germany] Körperschaft des Offentlichen Rechts Ethik-kommission) granted approval on the 27th August 2008 (ref: 2008-086-f)
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studiedPhysician-patient communication
InterventionIntervention group:
Three-day communication and interaction skills training including role play with standardised patients and supervised ward rounds in between, and a final evaluation with an MSE (multi-station exercise).

Control group:
Waiting-list control group receiving the same literature as the intervention group. Out of ethical reasons the control group will be given the same intervention after data acquisition is completed.

Joint/Scientific Sponsor Details:
SLK Hospital Heilbronn (Germany)
c/o Dr Urs Riemann
Am Gesundbrunnen 20
74078 Heilbronn
Germany
Website: http://www.slk-kliniken.de/Klinikum-am-Gesundbrunnen.701.0.html

University Hospital Heidelberg (Germany)
c/o Dr Jobst-Hendrik Schultz
MME Bern
Im Neuenheimer Feld 410
69120 Heidelberg
Germany
Website: http://www.klinikum.uni-heidelberg.de/Klinik-fuer-Psychosomatische-und-Allgemeine-Klinische-Medizin.87.0.html

Joint/Scientific Contact Details:
Professor Wolf Langewitz
Universitätsspital Basel
Psychosomatik
Hebelstr.2
CH-4031 Basel
Switzerland
Intervention typeOther
Primary outcome measurePatient satisfaction measured by a modified version of the Picker Questionnaire before (t1) and after (t3) the intervention group is trained.

Timepoints:
t1: two months before the training
t2: intervention (training period, communication and interaction training)
t3: two months after the training
Secondary outcome measuresPhysicians:
Communication and interaction skills:
1. Measured by self-rating before (t1) and after training (t3)
2. Measured by performance in a multi-station exercise (MSE) directly after training (t2)
3. Measured by video analysis using the Roter Interaction Process Analysis System (RIAS), before (t1) and after training (t3)

Patients:
Adherence measured through a 4-item assessment by general practitioners (GP) providing follow-up care using the Visual Analogue Scale (0 = not at all adhered to 10 = totally adhered) (t3).

Timepoints:
t1: two months before the training
t2: intervention (training period, communication and interaction training)
t3: two months after the training
Overall study start date30/10/2008
Completion date30/03/2009

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupAdult
SexBoth
Target number of participantsPhysicians: 42; patients: 700
Key inclusion criteriaPatients:
1. Given consent
2. Receiving in-patient treatment at the Hospital SLK Heilbronn (Germany)
3. Sufficient German language skills
4. Sufficient literacy
5. Aged from 30 - 85 years, either sex

Physicians:
1. Given consent
2. Employed by the Hospital SLK Heilbronn (Germany)
3. Currently working shifts in the Department of Internal Medicine
4. Aged from 26 - 50 years, either sex
Key exclusion criteriaPatients or physicians declined consent.
Date of first enrolment30/10/2008
Date of final enrolment30/03/2009

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • Germany

Study participating centre

Innere Medizin II
Heidelberg
69120
Germany

Sponsor information

German Health Insurance Company AOK (Bundesgeschäftsstelle AOK Krankenkasse) (Germany)
Government

c/o Dr Schillinger
kortrijkerstr. 1
Bonn
53177
Germany

Website http://www.aok-bv.de/
ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/004cmqw89

Funders

Funder type

Government

German Health Insurance Company AOK (Bundesgeschäftsstelle AOK Krankenkasse) (Germany)

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareNo
IPD sharing plan summaryNot provided at time of registration
Publication and dissemination planNot provided at time of registration
IPD sharing plan