Patient Communication Training Intervention

It is well accepted that effective physician-patient communication is associated with important outcomes. Communication training interventions for oncologists and other clinicians has been shown to be effective in changing behavior and improving outcomes. Less attention has been given to improving cancer patients' communication with their physicians. Most of the studies in this area have been focused on activating patients through training them to ask questions. Although question asking is a vitally important patient communication skill, other patient communication skills should also be encouraged for patients.

In the primary care setting, studies on patient communication training have focused on three additional communication skills to asking questions: presenting information, checking understanding, and expressing concerns. The goal of this study is to pilot test a patient communication workshop that builds on the work done in the primary care setting, offering an intervention that focuses on a broad range of skills. The proposal aims to improve communication skills in an underserved population, which may be a factor contributing to minority health disparities.