Communication Skill Training Program for Occupational Therapy Interns

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Effective communication is one of important skills in occupational therapy (OT) practice, affecting the effectiveness and quality of therapy. Although there are only a few courses on communication skills related to OT, there is a lack of a complete, suitable, and evidence-based OT communication skills teaching programs that can effectively improve the interns' communication skills. The purpose of the study is to develop a communication skills training program for occupational therapy interns in physical dysfunction practice (COPE), and examine the effectiveness of COPE.

Official Title
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Development and Evaluation of a Communication Skill Training Program for Occupational Therapy Interns

Conditions
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Education, Medical

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: COPE


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: [interns] age ≥ 20 years an intern of occupational therapy [patients] age ≥ 20 years enable to communicate with the others Exclusion Criteria: [interns] unwilling to be recorded [patients] have communication barriers unwilling to be recorded

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 20 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Other
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Experiment group<br>interns in the experiment group receive COPE during their internship. | Other: COPE<br>* The experimental group receives the COPE during their internships. The COPE consists of two part: (1) communication skills teaching and simulation practice; (2) clinical communication teaching: record the clinical treatment process of the interns and turn them into verbatim drafts. Experts then complied the strengths and weaknesses of the interns' communication skills based on the verbatim manuscripts and gave feedback on the interns' communication skills. The interns in the experimental group will participate 1 time of the communication skills teaching and simulation practice, and 3 times of the clinical communication teaching in three months.<br>|
| No Intervention: Control group<br>interns in the control group do not receive any specific communication training during their internship. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Experts assessed interns' communication skills：Gap-Kalamazoo Communication Skills Assessment Forms (GKCSAF)-Faculty version | The experts will use the questionnaire named GKCSAF (faculty version) to assess interns' communication skills via verbatim draft of the audio-recording. The GKCSAF contains 9 items: build a relationship, open the discussion, gather information, understand the patients' perspective, share information, reach agreement, provide closure, demonstrate empathy, and communicate accurate information. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale. The total score ranges from 5 to 45. The higher scores indicate better communication skills. | during procedure | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Patients or caregivers assessed interns' communication skills：Gap-Kalamazoo Communication Skills Assessment Forms (GKCSAF)-patient/caregiver version | The patients will use the questionnaire named GKCSAF (patient/caregiver version) to assess the interns' communication skills after their occupation therapy. The items and the score range are the same with the faculty version. | during procedure | 
| Interns self-reported communication skills：Gap-Kalamazoo Communication Skills Assessment Forms (GKCSAF)-self-assessment version | The interns will use the GKCSAF (self-assessment version) to assess their communication skills via verbatim draft of the audio-recording after they communicate with the patients. The items and the score range are the same with the faculty and patient/caregiver version. | during procedure | 
| Patients' engagements in occupational therapy：Occupational Therapy Engagement Scale (OTES) | The experts will use OTES to assess patients' engagement in occupational therapy for one week. The OTES is a questionnaire which is designed to assess patients' engagement level in occupational therapy. The OTES contains 12 items, such as commit in therapy activities without being urged, sustain attention until the end of one therapeutic activity, and so on. Each item is rated on a 4-point scale. The total score ranges from 0 to 36. A higher sum score indicates a higher level of engagement. | during procedure | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Communication skill, occupational therapy, intern