Evaluation and Modification of a Shared Decision-Making Tool for Peanut Allergy Management.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Based on shared decision-making (SDM) principles, a decision aid was previously developed to help patients, their caregivers, and physicians decide which peanut allergy management approach best suits them. This study refined the decision aid's content to better reflect patients' and caregivers' lived experience. RECENT FINDINGS: Current standard of care for peanut allergy is avoidance, although peanut oral immunotherapy has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use in patients 4-17 years old. An advisory board of allergy therapy experts (n = 3) and patient advocates (n = 3) informed modifications to the decision aid. The revised tool underwent cognitive debriefing interviews (CDIs) among adolescents (12-17 years old) with peanut allergy and caregivers of patients 4-17 years old with peanut allergy to evaluate its relevance, understandability, and usefulness. The 20 CDI participants understood the information presented in the SDM tool and reported it was important and relevant. Some revisions were made based on participant feedback. Results support content validity of the Peanut Allergy Treatment SDM Tool.

Mediational roles of stress-coping factors in the relationship between patient-perceived communication quality and physical functioning: racial difference between Chinese and Non-Hispanic White American breast cancer survivors.

PURPOSE: The assumption that patient-provider communication may mediate patients' sense of control over cancer to affect health outcomes has limited evidence. This study examines whether patient-perceived cancer care communication quality (PPCQ) mediates stress appraisal and coping behavior, affecting physical functioning across different racial groups. METHODS: Two hundred and twenty Chinese American and 216 non-Hispanic White (NHW) women (ages 28-80) with stage 0-III breast cancer, 1-5 years post-diagnosis, and without recurrence, enrolled and completed a cross-sectional telephone survey. Physical functioning was measured by the NIH-PROMIS short form. Validated measures of PPCQ, patients' evaluation of their socioeconomic well-being, stress appraisal (perceived severity and control), use of coping strategies, treatment-related symptoms, and comorbidities were also assessed. Path analyses were used to examine the mediation for each racial group. RESULTS: Regardless of race, treatment-related symptoms, comorbidities, and socioeconomic well-being were all directly related to physical functioning (p < 0.05). The impact of PPCQ on physical functioning was mediated by perceived control in the Chinese American group (p < 0.05), but not in the NHW group. Perceived severity and coping were not mediators of physical functioning in either group. CONCLUSIONS: The mediational pathway from PPCQ to perceived control to physical functioning in Chinese American survivors may be partially explained by their lower socioeconomic well-being and culturally valued conformity to physicians as a medical authority. These sociocultural dynamics reinforce the importance of cancer care communication. For NHW survivors, the impact of treatment-related symptoms and socioeconomic well-being on physical functioning outweighed their PPCQ and perceived control.

'We are suffering. Nothing is changing.' Black mother's experiences, communication, and support in the neonatal intensive care unit in the United States: A Qualitative Study.

OBJECTIVES: Black mothers experience markedly disproportionate maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States, with racism often cited as the root cause manifesting through several pathways. The study examined Black mothers' perceived provider communication, support needs, and overall experiences in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). DESIGN: This study used grounded theory embedded in the Black feminist theoretical (BFT) framework to generate new ideas grounded in the data. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews using videoconferencing, with questions related to the mother's overall NICU experiences, communication within the NICU, and perceived support needs. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Twelve mothers participated in the study; most were married (n = 10), had a cesarean birth, had a previous pregnancy complication (e.g., diabetes, hypertension), had attained a graduate degree or more (n = 9), earned an annual household income of $75,000 or more, and were between 35-44 years of age (n = 7). Three broad domains with several accompanying themes and sub-themes were identified, explicating the mother's experiences in the NICU. Specifically, factors influencing NICU hospitalization for mothers included maternal care/nursing experiences, interactions in the NICU, and the perceived support need that might attenuate negative care and birthing experiences. . CONCLUSION: The study adds to the growing literature championing Black maternal health equity and multilevel quality improvement strategies to foster equitable maternal health. Our study reinforces the need for racially congruent interventions and policy reformations to protect Black birthing people regardless of socioeconomic factors and social class using life course, holistic approaches, and intersectionality mindset. Importantly, using the BFT, this study calls for culturally sensitive research to capture the nuances associated with the multiplicity of experiences of Black people.

Patient-Provider Satisfaction and Communication in U.S. Prenatal Care: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: This is a systematic review on patient-provider satisfaction in U.S. prenatal care by addressing the following research question: What factors influence patient-provider satisfaction during prenatal care? METHODS: Thirty six online databases were searched for peer-reviewed research from February to September of 2018 using 10 key terms published in English on U.S. populations between the years 1993-2018 on the topic of provider communication skills and patient satisfaction in the prenatal context. Searches yielded 2563 articles. After duplicates were reviewed and eligibility determined, 32 articles met criteria and were included in the final content analysis. All reported study variables were entered into EXCEL, data reported in each study were analyzed by two people for inter-rater reliability and included in the qualitative content analysis. Two researchers also utilized assessment tools to assess the quality of the articles. RESULTS: Results indicate the importance of good patient-provider communication, that patients have a need for more information on a plethora of topics, and that Hispanic and African American women reported less satisfaction. DISCUSSION: We recommend that future studies measure potentially significant themes not adequately present in the reviewed studies such as practitioner demographics (e.g. gender, years of experience, or race/ethnicity), mothers under 18 years of age, inclusion of religious minorities, patients with differing immigration statuses, and patients with disabilities.

Family perspectives on provider conversations about housing needs for children with medical complexity.

BACKGROUND: Children with medical complexity (CMC) have unique, and often unmet, housing needs that place them at risk for housing insecurity and poor health outcomes. Yet, little is known about how families with CMC discuss their housing needs with healthcare providers. We sought to understand: (1) how housing is currently discussed between CMC caregivers and healthcare providers, and (2) how CMC caregivers want such conversations to occur. METHODS: From August to November 2020, we conducted semi-structured interviews with parents/guardians of CMC (<26 years old) in Maryland as part of a larger study to understand their housing experience. Four questions on communication with providers about housing were developed a priori and included in this analysis. Qualitative content analysis was applied to interview transcripts. RESULTS: Among 31 completed interviews, most participants were female (90%), lived in single-family homes (68%) and were from a mix of neighbourhood types (urban 19%, suburban 58%, rural 22%). Their children ranged in age from 6 months to 22 years, had a mix of insurance types (public 65%, private 29%, both 6%) and nearly all required medical equipment or technology. Four themes emerged: (1) Current housing conversations are rare and superficial, (2) Ideal housing conversations would result in thoughtful care plans and concrete supports, (3) Frequency and initiation of housing conversations are best tailored to family preferences and (4) Value of housing conversations are limited by lack of provider knowledge and time. CONCLUSIONS: Conversations about housing needs for CMC happen in limited ways with healthcare providers, despite a desire on the part of their caregivers. Such conversations can give meaningful insights into the family's specific housing challenges, allowing providers to appropriately tailor care plans and referrals. Future work is needed to capture provider perspectives, design CMC-specific housing screeners and develop interdisciplinary referral strategies.

Factors that influence medication adherence in women with fibromyalgia: A path analysis.

AIMS: To investigate the relationships between depression symptoms, perceived stigma, disease severity, patient-provider communication and medication adherence in fibromyalgia patients. The objectives were to explore how these factors influence treatment adherence and to develop a comprehensive model illustrating their interconnections. BACKGROUND: Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain syndrome with fatigue, sleep issues and idiopathic pain. Medication adherence is limited by insufficient symptom relief, side effects and costs. Stigma further complicates fibromyalgia. Disease severity affects patient-provider communication. Associations between depression, stigma, severity, communication and adherence in fibromyalgia are unclear. DESIGN: A cross-sectional, correlational study. METHODS: The STROBE guidelines for cross-sectional studies were followed. Participants included Hebrew-speaking participants who were members of two Facebook groups: 'Shades of Purple' and 'Fibromyalgia- Get to Know!' Between February and April 2022. They undertook evaluations using The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 to gauge depression symptoms, assessed perceived stigma, utilised The Revised Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire to determine disease severity, employed The Patient Reaction Assessment questionnaire for patient-provider communication, and used the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). Associations between the variables were explored using Pearson's correlations and path analyses. RESULTS: The study included 141 women with fibromyalgia, aged 22 to 76 years. Most reported having a stable partner (69.5%) and 75.2% had children. The treatment adherence levels were as follows: 53.2% (N = 75)-low, 33.3% (N = 47)-medium and 13.5% (N = 19)-high. Depression positively correlated with stigma. Stigma negatively correlated with patient-provider communication. Patient-provider communication positively correlated with treatment adherence. A significant negative indirect effect of depression on treatment adherence through stigma and patient-provider communication was found. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived stigma and patient-provider communication played a mediating role in the relationships between depression and treatment adherence among women with fibromyalgia. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Addressing stigma related to fibromyalgia and effective patient-provider communication can positively influence treatment adherence. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.

Examining provider anticipatory guidance for adolescents' preventive health: A latent class approach.

BACKGROUND: Low rates of anticipatory guidance (AG) are reported across studies with adolescents, and little is known about how these conversations differ across early versus middle adolescence. This study explored adolescent-provider AG conversations for preventive health skills; the study objectives were to (1) identify patterns of provider-adolescent AG conversations across early and middle adolescence and (2) determine socio-demographic characteristics associated with these AG conversations. DESIGN AND METHOD: Data from the 2019 National Survey of Children's Health were used to identify patterns of provider-adolescent AG conversations. The sample included 5500 early and 6730 middle adolescents (Mage = 14.67 years old, SD = 1.71, 51.7% boys, 79% White). Multiple group latent class analysis and multinomial regressions were estimated using four indicators of AG conversations (i.e., skills to manage health and healthcare, changes in healthcare that happen at 18, making positive choices about health, and receiving a medical history summary). RESULTS: Three types of AG conversations were identified: high AG, low AG, and parent unaware. Among early and middle adolescents, adolescents that were older, girls, had private health insurance, and a personal provider were less likely to receive high AG compared to other types of AG. CONCLUSIONS: Policies and strategies to engage adolescents in AG conversations during and outside of the medical appointment are needed. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Tools, such as brief screeners, can be used to ensure all adolescents are receiving high AG. School-based health centers, community centers and organizations, and telehealth appointments with medical professionals may be additional opportunities for adolescents to receive AG.

Feasibility of implementing a remote system for lymphoedema conservative therapy: a case study.

BACKGROUND: Poor access to lymphoedema specialists and communication between them and patients prevents appropriate lymphoedema management. Therefore, development and dissemination of remote systems is necessary to improve care in rural areas with limited medical personnel or access to medical coordination. AIMS: The authors evaluated the elements required for providing patient education on conservative therapy for lymphoedema, to determine the feasibility of remote management. METHODS: The study involved connecting a health professional in a local clinic (point A) treating a patient with lymphoedema, who was present alongside the clinician, with a specialist certified lymphoedema therapist (CLT) located remotely in a university (point B). FINDINGS: The CLT was able to greet, interview and provide guidance to the patient on conservative therapy. Direct contact with the patient was not possible, which limited visualisation, palpation, leg circumference measurement, and lymphatic drainage management. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that remote a lymphoedema management approach involving conservative therapy benefits both patients and health professionals, particularly in rural regions. Future studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of this approach to confirm adequate treatment.

Racial disparities in cancer genetic counseling encounters: study protocol for investigating patient-genetic counselor communication in the naturalistic clinical setting using a convergent mixed methods design.

BACKGROUND: Despite decades of effort to reduce racial cancer disparities, Black people continue to die at higher rates from cancer than any other U.S. racial group. Because prevention is a key to the cost-effective and long-term control of cancer, the potential for cancer genetic counseling to play a central role in reducing racial cancer disparities is high. However, the benefits of genetic counseling are not equitable across race. Only 2% of genetic counselors self-identify as Black/African American, so most genetic counseling encounters with Black patients are racially discordant. Patients in racially discordant medical interactions tend to have poorer quality patient-provider communication and receive suboptimal clinical recommendations. One major factor that contributes to these healthcare disparities is racial bias. Drawing on findings from prior research, we hypothesize that genetic counselor providers' implicit racial prejudice will be associated negatively with the quality of patient-provider communication, while providers' explicit negative racial stereotypes will be associated negatively with the comprehensiveness of clinical discussions of cancer risk and genetic testing for Black (vs. White) patients. METHODS: Using a convergent mixed methods research design, we will collect data from at least 15 genetic counseling providers, from two different institutions, and their 220 patients (approximately equal number of Black and White patients per provider) whose appointments are for a hereditary cancer condition. The data sources will include two provider surveys, two patient surveys, video- and/or audio-recordings of genetic counseling encounters, and medical chart reviews. The recorded cancer genetic counseling in-person and telehealth encounters will be analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively to assess the quality of patient-provider communication and the comprehensiveness of clinical discussion. Those data will be linked to pre- and post-encounter survey data and data from medical chart reviews to test our hypotheses. DISCUSSION: Findings from this multi-site study will highlight specific aspects of cancer genetic counseling encounters (patient-provider communication and clinical recommendations) that are directly associated with patient-centered outcomes (e.g., satisfaction, trust, genetic testing completion). Patient-provider communication and clinical recommendations are modifiable factors that can be integrated into current genetic counseling training curricula and thus can have immediate impact on genetic counseling training and practice.

Improving communication between women with vulvodynia and their romantic partners: insights and recommendations for practitioners.

BACKGROUND: Interactions among female patients with vulvodynia, their romantic partners, and clinicians are key to promoting positive health outcomes. Previous studies have investigated how the content of romantic partners' responses to expressions of pain are related to these outcomes. Yet, the content of patients' conversations and the appraisals of their difficulty remain unknown. AIM: This study offers guidance to clinicians counseling patients with vulvodynia by explicating the frequency and difficulty of various salient conversational topics. METHODS: Thirty-four women with vulvodynia completed a screener survey indicating the frequency and difficulty of conversational topics. Follow-up in-depth interviews were conducted with 26 women. A dominant partner response type was identified for each participant. RESULTS: Topics most often discussed, such as sex, were rated as among the least difficult to discuss. Most participants reported experiencing the facilitative partner response type, which promotes adaptive coping. CONCLUSION: Determining patients' perceived conversational difficulty and frequency is necessary to provide quality and efficient counseling to women with vulvodynia and their partners. Patients also experience partner response types. Therefore, clinicians must solicit subjective assessments of conversational difficulty when advising patients and their romantic partners.

Patient and Provider Perceptions About Communication After Bariatric Surgery: A Qualitative Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Communication between patients and providers can strongly influence patient behavior after surgery. The objective of this study was to assess patient and provider perceptions of how communication affected weight-related behaviors after bariatric surgery. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Semistructured interviews with bariatric surgery patients and providers were conducted from April-November 2020. Patients who had Medicaid within 3 y of surgery were defined as socioeconomically disadvantaged. Interview guides were derived from Andersen's Behavioral Model of Health Services and Torain's Framework for Surgical Disparities. Participants described postoperative experiences regarding diet, physical activity, and follow-up care. A codebook was developed deductively based on the two theories. Directed content analysis identified themes pertaining to patient-provider communication. RESULTS: Forty-five participants were interviewed, including 24 patients (83% female; 79% White), six primary care providers, four health psychologists, five registered dietitians, and six bariatric surgeons. Four themes regarding communication emerged: (1) Patients experiencing weight regain did not want to follow-up with providers to discuss their weight; (2) Patients from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds had less trust and required more rapport-building from providers to enhance trust; (3) Patients felt that providers did not get to know them personally, which was perceived as a lack of personalized communication; and (4) Providers often changed their language to be simpler, so patients could understand them. CONCLUSIONS: Patient-provider communication after bariatric surgery is essential, but perceptions about the elements of communication differ between patients and providers. Reassuring patients who have attained less weight loss than expected and establishing trust with socioeconomically vulnerable patients could strengthen care after bariatric surgery.

An EMR-based alert with brief provider-led ART adherence counseling in Haiti: effects on information, motivation, and behavioral skills (IMB) and patient-provider communication (PPC).

We examined the secondary effects of an antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence intervention on information, motivation, and behavioral skills (IMB) and patient-provider communication (PPC). Data were from a sample of 116 patients enrolled in a quasi-experimental mixed-methods study at two large ART clinics in Haiti. We examined changes in IMB and PPC scores after the intervention and the association between baseline PPC and endline IMB.The intervention was associated with increased scores in information (ß = 0.89, 95% CI [0.07, 1.70]) and motivation (ß = 2.55, 95% CI [0.38, 4.72]) but a decreased score in behavioral skills (ß = -2.39, 95% CI [-4.29, -0.49]), after controlling for demographic and clinical variables. Baseline PPC was associated with higher endline IMB total scores (ß = 0.17, 95% CI [0.02, 0.31]), controlling for demographic variables, clinical variables, and baseline IMB score. At the subscale level, baseline PPC was associated with higher endline motivation score (ß = 0.09, 95% CI [0.01, 0.17]), marginally associated with higher endline information score (ß = 0.04, 95% CI [0.00, 0.08]), after controlling for demographic and clinical variables.The intervention was beneficial to patients' adherence related motivation. Favorable patient-provider communication is associated with more motivation to adhere to ART.

Reported information sharing and satisfaction with maternity care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Associations with socioeconomic status and shifts to telehealth.

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected pregnant people's prenatal care, labor, and delivery experiences. Given these rapid changes, providers have needed to be proactive in sharing information about COVID-19-related care impacts. The purpose of this study was to investigate: (a) Whether patient demographics or disrupted care (eg, canceled appointments and rapid shift to telehealth) is associated with patient-reported information sharing from the providers; and (b) Whether patient-reported provider information sharing or disruptions to care are associated with patient satisfaction with provider. METHODS: Data come from a convenience sample of 1999 pregnant people living in the United States who completed an online survey between April 16 and May 7 2020. RESULTS: Thirty-eight percent of participants said that their provider had not discussed how the pandemic would affect their care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. Participants with lower education, less income, or whose appointments had been canceled or rescheduled because of the pandemic were significantly less likely to report information sharing. Provider satisfaction was significantly lower among participants who did not report information sharing, those who had appointments by way of telehealth, and those who reported that all their appointments had been rescheduled/canceled. DISCUSSION: At the beginning of the pandemic, there were significant socioeconomic inequities in reported information sharing by the providers, which in turn was negatively associated with provider satisfaction. Providers need to be aware of the role implicit bias may play in information sharing-both generally and during public health crises-and consider ways to reduce the impacts of disrupted care delivery on patient satisfaction. If left unaddressed, perceived poor provider communication and associated low satisfaction with providers could contribute to adverse perinatal outcomes.

Patient-provider communication about cognition and the role of memory concerns: a descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Early identification of cognitive impairment is an important part of health promotion in aging. However, many older adults do not seek help for cognitive problems until their ability to function independently is substantially impacted. The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore older adults' experiences with patient-provider communication specific to cognition as well as compare barriers and facilitators between those with and without memory concerns. METHODS: We conducted an online survey with individuals aged 65 + years (n = 409; mean age = 71.4(4.73); 54% female; 79% non-Hispanic White), purposively sampled to include those with and without memory concerns. Questionnaires included measures of subjective memory decline (SMD), memory concerns, past healthcare experiences, as well as open-ended questions regarding patient-provider communication about cognition. Content analysis was used to code open-ended responses. Logistic regression was used to examine differences in facilitators and barriers to communication among three groups: no SMD (n = 130), SMD without memory concerns (n = 143), and SMD with memory concerns (n = 136). RESULTS: Only 16.6% of participants reported discussing cognition with a healthcare provider. Of the remaining 83.4%, approximately two-thirds would be open to such discussions in certain circumstances, most frequently if they had worsening memory problems. Over half of participants reported that their provider had never offered cognitive testing. Compared to the no SMD and SMD without memory concerns groups, participants reporting SMD with memory concerns were more likely to: (1) discuss cognition if their healthcare provider initiated the conversation, and (2) avoid discussions of cognitive problems due to fears of losing independence. CONCLUSIONS: We found that most participants, including those reporting SMD with memory concerns, had never discussed cognition with their healthcare providers. Patient-reported barriers and facilitators to communication about cognition differed in several areas based on SMD status and the presence or absence of memory concerns. Consideration of these differences can guide future efforts to improve early identification of subtle cognitive changes that would benefit from further monitoring or intervention.

Emergency department patient-centred care perspectives from deaf and hard-of-hearing patients.

BACKGROUND: Deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) patients are a priority population for emergency medicine health services research. DHH patients are at higher risk than non-DHH patients of using the emergency department (ED), have longer lengths of stay in the ED and report poor patient-provider communication. This qualitative study aimed to describe ED care-seeking and patient-centred care perspectives among DHH patients. METHODS: This qualitative study is the second phase of a mixed-methods study. The goal of this study was to further explain quantitative findings related to ED outcomes among DHH and non-DHH patients. We conducted semistructured interviews with 4 DHH American Sign Language (ASL)-users and 6 DHH English speakers from North Central Florida. Interviews were transcribed and analysed using a descriptive qualitative approach. RESULTS: Two themes were developed: (1) DHH patients engage in a complex decision-making process to determine ED utilization and (2) patient-centred ED care differs between DHH ASL-users and DHH English speakers. The first theme describes the social-behavioural processes through which DHH patients assess their need to use the ED. The second theme focuses on the social environment within the ED: patients feeling stereotyped, involvement in the care process, pain communication, receipt of accommodations and discharge processes. CONCLUSIONS: This study underscores the importance of better understanding, and intervening in, DHH patient ED care-seeking and care delivery to improve patient outcomes. Like other studies, this study also finds that DHH patients are not a monolithic group and language status is an equity-relevant indicator. We also discuss recommendations for emergency medicine. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: This study convened a community advisory group made up of four DHH people to assist in developing research questions, data collection tools and validation of the analysis and interpretation of data. Community advisory group members who were interested in co-authorship are listed in the byline, with others in the acknowledgements. In addition, several academic-based co-authors are also deaf or hard of hearing.

Association between patient-provider communication and withholding information due to privacy concerns among women in the United States: an analysis of the 2011 to 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey.

BACKGROUND: Electronic medical record software is common in healthcare settings. However, data privacy and security challenges persist and may impede patients' willingness to disclose health information to their clinicians. Positive patient-provider communication may foster patient trust and subsequently reduce information nondisclosure. This study sought to characterize information-withholding behaviors among women and evaluate the association between positive patient-provider communication and women's health information-withholding behavior in the United States. METHODS: Data were pooled from the 2011 to 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey. We used descriptive statistics, bivariate, and logistic regression analyses to investigate whether positive patient-provider communication significantly impacted health information-withholding behaviors. Data from 7,738 women were analyzed. RESULTS: About 10.8% or 1 in 10 women endorsed withholding health information from their providers because of privacy or security concerns about their medical records. After adjusting for the covariates, higher positive patient-provider communication scores were associated with lower odds of withholding information from the provider because of privacy and security concerns (aOR 0.93; 95% CI = 0.90-0.95). Additionally, we found that age, race/ethnicity, educational status, psychological distress, and smoking status significantly predicted women's willingness to disclose health information. CONCLUSIONS: Findings suggest that improving positive patient-provider communication quality may reduce women's privacy and security concerns and encourage them to disclose sensitive medical information.

Acceptability of an online communication training intervention for genetic counseling students.

Technology provides opportunities to enhance communication skills training for genetic counseling graduate students. We assessed the acceptability of an online communication training program. Graduate student volunteers completed five online training modules on basic communication skills with opportunities to practice the skills within three simulated/standardized patient (SP) sessions. Participants completed online questionnaires reporting on acceptability, perceived usefulness, and realism of the modules and SP sessions. They also reported on the ease of transferring skills from the modules to clinical practice. Out of the 60 students who completed the baseline session, 35 (58%) completed all five training modules. Out of these 35 students, most found the modules to be useful (94%) and agreed that they were relevant to clinical practice (97%). At least 88% of participants found the genetic counselors, patient, and case scenarios to be realistic. Twenty-eight students had participated in clinical rotations since completing the intervention. Of these, 17 (61%) reported that it was at least slightly easy to use the skills in actual clinical cases. Most students also reported being able to transfer the skills they had learned into clinical practice. While the training was well-received, the relatively low completion rate of 58% raises concern that the intervention may need formal integration into the program curriculum to succeed due to the time and effort demands on students.

Genetic counseling students' use of patient-centered communication skills predicts standardized patient satisfaction during virtual simulated sessions.

Communication is essential to effective genetic counseling, but few studies have systematically evaluated methods of assessing communication skills among genetic counseling trainees. The study's objective is to compare the strength of associations between standardized patient (SP) satisfaction with simulated genetic counseling sessions and student skill use during the sessions, as reported by SPs and students. We hypothesized that (1) Both SP- and student-reported skill use will be significantly associated with SP satisfaction ratings during the baseline simulation and (2): SP ratings of student skill use will show a stronger relationship to SP satisfaction than student self-rating of skill use. Sixty genetic counseling students and recent graduates (referred to as "students") from accredited U.S. and Canadian programs participated in the study and completed a baseline virtual-simulated genetic counseling session. Both students and SPs completed post-session questionnaires about communication skill use (a 22-item checklist) and SPs completed a satisfaction questionnaire based on the session (a 14-item Likert scale). Multilevel regression models assessed associations between SP satisfaction during the baseline session and SP- or student-reported skill use. SP satisfaction was significantly associated with skill use reported by both SPs and students, but the model based on SP report explained a higher proportion of the variance in SP satisfaction than student-reported skill use (SP model fixed effects R2  = 27%, adjusted R2  = 21%; vs. student model R2  = 7%, adjusted R2  = -2%). For both the SP and student models, use of more skills from the LISTEN domain (which focused on eliciting the patient's perspective) was associated with higher SP satisfaction, while other skill category domains were not. These findings support the SP satisfaction measure as sensitive to variation in student performance of key communication skills, especially those eliciting the patient's perspective. Moreover, SP assessment of session satisfaction can be a useful assessment of student communication performance and a meaningful proxy for actual patient satisfaction.

Improving serious illness communication: a qualitative study of clinical culture.

OBJECTIVE: Communication about patients' values, goals, and prognosis in serious illness (serious illness communication) is a cornerstone of person-centered care yet difficult to implement in practice. As part of Serious Illness Care Program implementation in five health systems, we studied the clinical culture-related factors that supported or impeded improvement in serious illness conversations. METHODS: Qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews of clinical leaders, implementation teams, and frontline champions. RESULTS: We completed 30 interviews across palliative care, oncology, primary care, and hospital medicine. Participants identified four culture-related domains that influenced serious illness communication improvement: (1) clinical paradigms; (2) interprofessional empowerment; (3) perceived conversation impact; (4) practice norms. Changes in clinicians' beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors in these domains supported values and goals conversations, including: shifting paradigms about serious illness communication from 'end-of-life planning' to 'knowing and honoring what matters most to patients;' improvements in psychological safety that empowered advanced practice clinicians, nurses and social workers to take expanded roles; experiencing benefits of earlier values and goals conversations; shifting from avoidant norms to integration norms in which earlier serious illness discussions became part of routine processes. Culture-related inhibitors included: beliefs that conversations are about dying or withdrawing care; attitudes that serious illness communication is the physician's job; discomfort managing emotions; lack of reliable processes. CONCLUSIONS: Aspects of clinical culture, such as paradigms about serious illness communication and inter-professional empowerment, are linked to successful adoption of serious illness communication. Further research is warranted to identify effective strategies to enhance clinical culture and drive clinician practice change.

A scoping review of interventions seeking to improve aspects of patient-provider relationships involving Black pregnant and post-partum people.

AIMS: To provide a map of the evidence related to interventions targeting patient-provider relationships among Black perinatal people. DESIGN: A scoping review of the literature was conducted. DATA SOURCES: The database search included English language articles within three databases: PubMed, the Cumulative Index for Nursing and Allied Health Literature, and Medline without date restriction on June 15 and16 2022. REVIEW METHODS: This scoping review used the six-stage process first described by Arksey and O'Malley and recommended by the Joanna Briggs Institute: (1) specify the research question, (2) identify relevant literature, (3) select studies, (4) map out the data, (5) synthesize, and report the results and (6) consult experts. Studies were included if they (1) reported results of intervention studies related to patient-provider interaction, (2) were written in English and (3) were original research. The articles were reviewed with content analysis methodology to categorize and interpret the findings. RESULTS: Studies included randomized controlled trials (n = 5) and qualitative studies (n = 3) published between 2001 and 2018. Black pregnant people made up more than half of the participants in five of the eight studies (63%). Interventions were divided into three categories: delivery models (n = 4), mHealth risk assessment tools (n = 2) and patient-provider communication tools (n = 2). CONCLUSION: This study addressed the unknown role of patient-provider relationship interventions in improving the quality of care received by Black perinatal people. Findings suggest that structural and interpersonal components may have the potential to improve outcomes for Black pregnant people but could be further improved if culturally tailored. Further research is urgently needed to address discrimination and stigma in patient-provider relationships. The findings of this study could inform novel intervention development and should drive research. IMPACT: A scoping review determined that there are no interventions with Black pregnant people which targeted discrimination and bias in patient-provider relationships. NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: The authors did not include stakeholders such as patients, service users, caregivers or members of the public in the development of this scoping review, as it is a work that serves to set the stage for further community-based work. The results will however be communicated to community members at a planned advisory board in the future.