Professional-patient communication skills in the hearing aid fitting process: assessment of a teaching strategy

Author(s)

Alessandra Adriano de Almeida Miranda

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Bauru.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru (FOB/SDB)
• Defense date: 2015-07-07

Examining board members

Deborah Viviane Ferrari; Simone Aparecida Lopes Herrera; Midori Otake Yamada

• Advisor: Deborah Viviane Ferrari

Abstract

The improvement of processes involving communication between the health professional and the patient is fundamental for the humanization of these procedures and the best qualifying results. Effective professional-patient communication incorporates a complex range of skills that are not learned informally or intuitively. Thus, the teaching of such skills needs to be incorporated into the audiologists´ training. The Calgary-Cambridge guide provides evidence based structure for analysis and teaching of communication skills in the interview with the patient. The aim of this study was to implement and evaluate a workshop for SLP-audiology undergraduate students integrate patient centered communication skills with the technical procedures of the hearing aid fitting process. Participated in this study 27 female students from the 4th year of undergraduation in SLP-Audiology at FOB / USP, aged between 20 and 27, who had not received formal training in professional-patient communication skills. A one-day workshop based on the \"Time and Talk\" tool (Ida Institute), adapted from the Calgary-Cambridge, guide was conducted. Among the activities, three simulated consultations with professional actors playing real patients were used for professional-patient communication and counseling skills training. Participants responded to the Supervisee Levels Questionnaire Revised (SLQ-R) before and after the workshop. They also responded to the Simulation Design Scale - SDS, visual and analogue scale and four open questions about the impact of the workshop. Quantitative and qualitative methods were used for analysis. On average, the SLQ-R results were similar to those described in the literature for beginners in counseling activities. There was a significant decrease (paired t-test) score on the SLQ-R subscale \"Self and others awareness post-workshop that, combined with the qualitative data, suggested that the workshop led to a new understanding of the process of communication/counseling for the patient and greater awareness of the participants about their attributes and limitations. Average scores near the maximum were obtained in SDS, indicating the presence and importance of simulation features, in particular the Fidelity/Realism and Feedback/Reflection, this being also supported by the qualitative data. On the visual analog scale a median of 8 indicated that participants believed in their ability to perform patient counseling after the workshop. Qualitative analysis indicated that participants deemed as the more challenging elements of the simulation dealing with patient\'s emotions (25%) and the process of empathy (21%). Among the changes that they intended to perform in their clinical behavior after the workshop, active listening (45%) and empathy (33%) were the most cited. It was suggested to expand the workshop offering and simulated consultations (90%) for each year of undergraduation course. The workshop allowed the students to raise awareness about the importance of using effective patient communication skills and led to reflection and criticism about their own abilities. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/13572-2 - Teaching and learning comminucation skills for the hearing aid fitting process
• Grantee: Alessandra Adriano de Almeida Miranda
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master