Improving communication between patients and healthcare staff
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Improving communication between older people with multimorbidity and primary care staff: Development of a behaviour change intervention
IRAS ID
246496
Contact name
Rebecca Hays
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
The University of Manchester
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
PB-PG-0816-20035, Funder's reference number (RfPB)
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 0 days
Research summary
Background
Patient safety can be compromised by what healthcare staff say and do, and by what patients say and do. Good communication between both is essential for patient safety as communication can impact all aspects of care, including diagnosis and treatment.People with two or more long-term conditions (multimorbidity), including those aged 65+, can have complex and unmet healthcare needs. This can make communication between staff and patients difficult.
To-date, research has focused on improving how staff communicate with patients. However, a few studies have attempted to change how older patients communicate with staff. In these studies, patients became more knowledgeable about and more satisfied with their care. This suggests older patients could help improve communication. However, we do not know how best to empower older patients with multimorbidity to do this.
The studies described here are part of a wider project designed to help us better understand how patients talk to staff, and how they might be supported to improve communication.
Aims and methods
Two different interview studies will be carried out in the North of England. Each interview will last approximately 60 minutes. Participants will be older people (65+) with multimorbidity, and staff working in general practices.In Study A, we aim to explore patient and staff experiences of communication in primary care. We are particularly interested in how patients communicate with staff, and how this might be improved.
We will use the findings from Study A, and other on-going studies, to design supportive materials to help older people with multimorbidity communicate more effectively with staff.
In Study B, we aim to discover how those supportive materials could be made easier and more appealing to use.
Patient and Public Involvement
Patients, and carers of patients, with multimorbidity have helped us design this study, and will be involved throughout.REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/EE/0337
Date of REC Opinion
15 Oct 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion