Clinical trial · Interventional
On-site Supportive Communication Training in Doctor-patient Communication
On-site Supportive Communication Training in Doctor-patient Communication: A Randomized, Controlled Trial
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
The goal of this randomized, controlled clinical trial is to test a new concept for communication skills training (on-site supportive communication training (on-site SCT) in cancer care. The study aims to determine the impact of on-site SCT on patients' rating of oncologists' communication abilities. Oncologists participating in the study will be randomly allocated to the intervention or control group. In the intervention group each doctor will have a total of three intervention days at intervals of 3-4 weeks. On an intervention day, a psychologist will sit in and observe doctor-patient consultations. After the first consultations, 30 minutes are allocated for feedback to the doctor by the psychologist. After the last consultation of the day, 60 minutes are allocated for thorough feedback and establishment of learning goals to focus on until the next intervention day. Doctor's in the control group will conduct communication as usual. Researchers will compare the control and intervention groups to see if patients' rating of doctors' interpersonal and communication skills increase when the doctors have participated in on-site SCT. The 15-item Communication Assessment Tool (CAT) will be used. It will also be investigated whether on-site SCT increases the doctors' rating of themselves in relation to communication efficacy and job satisfaction and decrease their experience of burnout.
Conditions
Conditions (9)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burnout | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Communication, Manual | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Communication Programs | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Communication Research | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Doctor Patient Relation | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Efficacy, Self | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Job Stress | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Oncology | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Satisfaction, Patient | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| On-site supportive communication training | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- ACTIVE_COMPARATOR
- label
- Intervention
- description
- Each oncologist will have a total of three intervention days with a psychologist sitting in and observing the doctor-patient consultations and subsequently providing feedback.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: On-site supportive communication training
- type
- NO_INTERVENTION
- label
- Control
- description
- Oncologists in the control group will conduct consultations as usual.
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Difference in rate of "Excellent" scores on the Communication Assessment Tool between the intervention and the control group.
- timeFrame
- 6 months
- description
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
- Maximum age
- 100 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Medical doctors * Employed at the Department of Oncology, Vejle Hospital, University Hospital of Southern Denmark or Aalborg University Hospital, or Zealand University Hospital, Roskilde/Naestved. * Work in the outpatient clinics at the participating departments Exclusion Criteria: * Doctors whose employment contracts will expire during the study and who do not plan to continue working at the department. * Doctors who are not willing to sign the informed consent form.
References
Publications (21)
- BACKGROUNDDilworth S, Higgins I, Parker V, Kelly B, Turner J. Patient and health professional's perceived barriers to the delivery of psychosocial care to adults with cancer: a systematic review. Psychooncology. 2014 Jun;23(6):601-12. doi: 10.1002/pon.3474. Epub 2014 Feb 11. PMID 24519814
- BACKGROUNDGattellari M, Butow PN, Tattersall MH. Sharing decisions in cancer care. Soc Sci Med. 2001 Jun;52(12):1865-78. doi: 10.1016/s0277-9536(00)00303-8. PMID 11352412
- BACKGROUNDStewart MA. Effective physician-patient communication and health outcomes: a review. CMAJ. 1995 May 1;152(9):1423-33. PMID 7728691
- BACKGROUNDVogel BA, Leonhart R, Helmes AW. Communication matters: the impact of communication and participation in decision making on breast cancer patients' depression and quality of life. Patient Educ Couns. 2009 Dec;77(3):391-7. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2009.09.005. Epub 2009 Oct 1. PMID 19796910
- BACKGROUNDThorne SE, Bultz BD, Baile WF; SCRN Communication Team. Is there a cost to poor communication in cancer care?: a critical review of the literature. Psychooncology. 2005 Oct;14(10):875-84; discussion 885-6. doi: 10.1002/pon.947. PMID 16200515
- BACKGROUNDMoore PM, Rivera S, Bravo-Soto GA, Olivares C, Lawrie TA. Communication skills training for healthcare professionals working with people who have cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018 Jul 24;7(7):CD003751. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD003751.pub4. PMID 30039853
- BACKGROUNDAnderson PA. Giving feedback on clinical skills: are we starving our young? J Grad Med Educ. 2012 Jun;4(2):154-8. doi: 10.4300/JGME-D-11-000295.1. PMID 23730434
- BACKGROUNDBurgess A, van Diggele C, Roberts C, Mellis C. Feedback in the clinical setting. BMC Med Educ. 2020 Dec 3;20(Suppl 2):460. doi: 10.1186/s12909-020-02280-5.