Contact information
Type
Scientific
Primary contact
Dr Jana Juenger
ORCID ID
Contact details
Innere Medizin II
Universitätsklinikum Heidelberg
Im Neuenheimer Feld 410
Heidelberg
69120
Germany
+48 (0)6221 563 8872
jana.juenger@med.uni-heidelberg.de
Additional identifiers
EudraCT number
ClinicalTrials.gov number
Protocol/serial number
N/A
Study information
Scientific title
A randomised controlled trial to enhance the physician-patient relationship in inpatient care by a communication training and supervision
Acronym
APKIT
Study hypothesis
1. 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
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)
Study design
Randomised controlled trial (single centred, single blinded)
Primary study design
Interventional
Secondary study design
Randomised controlled trial
Trial setting
Not specified
Trial type
Treatment
Patient information sheet
Not available in web format, please use the contact details below to request a patient information sheet
Condition
Physician-patient communication
Intervention
Intervention 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 type
Other
Phase
Not Specified
Drug names
Primary outcome measures
Patient 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 measures
Physicians:
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 trial start date
30/10/2008
Overall trial end date
30/03/2009
Reason abandoned
Eligibility
Participant inclusion criteria
Patients:
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
Participant type
Patient
Age group
Adult
Gender
Both
Target number of participants
Physicians: 42; patients: 700
Participant exclusion criteria
Patients or physicians declined consent.
Recruitment start date
30/10/2008
Recruitment end date
30/03/2009
Locations
Countries of recruitment
Germany
Trial participating centre
Innere Medizin II
Heidelberg
69120
Germany
Sponsor information
Organisation
German Health Insurance Company AOK (Bundesgeschäftsstelle AOK Krankenkasse) (Germany)
Sponsor details
c/o Dr Schillinger
kortrijkerstr. 1
Bonn
53177
Germany
Sponsor type
Government
Website
Funders
Funder type
Government
Funder name
German Health Insurance Company AOK (Bundesgeschäftsstelle AOK Krankenkasse) (Germany)
Alternative name(s)
Funding Body Type
Funding Body Subtype
Location
Results and Publications
Publication and dissemination plan
Not provided at time of registration
Intention to publish date
Participant level data
Not provided at time of registration
Results - basic reporting
Publication summary