Clinical Psychology & Communication in Medicine
By Christa Zimmermann
The unit has developed and standardized instruments and methodologies to
analyze doctor patient interactions both in Primary Care and in Psychiatry. On
the basis of the research held by the unit and the already existing material,
trainings for health care providers (doctors, nurses, etc.) aimed to improve
their use of communication skills have been carried out. In particular, through
the use of a learner centred approach, participants learn how to collect and
give information, the relationship building process and patients' involvement
and how to deal with patients' emotions. The efficacy of these courses has been
confirmed in General Practice and Psychiatry.
Currently, the unit is involved in of 2 multicentre studies: an international
study on the citizens perception of doctors communication skills (Verona,
Liverpool, Utrecht, Gent); and a national study on the informative needs of
breast cancer patients and their involvement in treatment decisions (Verona,
Brescia).
STAFF
Prof. Lidia Del Piccolo, Psicologist, Assistant Professor
Dr. Claudia Goss, Psychiatrist, Research Fellow
Dr. Maria Angela Mazzi, Statistician
Dr. Michela Rimondini, Psychologist, Research Fellows
CURRENT RESEARCHES
Guliver. A good
doctor patient communication: which are the essential ingredients for the
general population? A multicentre study.
Giuseppe Deledda, Michela Rimondini, Mariangela Mazzi, Christa Zimmermann
Description and aims: The study aims to identify through the method of
the focus groups the key elements followed by citizen when evaluating doctors'
communication skills in four different countries: Italy, Belgium, Oland and
England. Each country set up 8 focus groups, collecting a sample of 160
subjects balanced for gender and age. Their verbal expressions have been
analyzed with quantitative and qualitative systems, specifically developed for
this study.
Informative and emotive needs of psychotic patients and their involvement in
treatment decisions
Claudia Goss, Michela Rimondini, Mariangela Mazzi, Christa Zimmermann,
Lidia Del Piccolo
Description and aims: This study is part of a multicenter randomized
trial that took place in Mental Health Centers across northern Italy, called Get
up-Genetics, Endophenotypes and Treatment: Understanding early Psychosis.
The aims of this research project are to investigate informative needs and
expectations of psychotic patients and their relatives, associated with an
"empowerment " intervention on patients (prompt sheet), on patients
involvement in treatment decisions.
The involvement of breast cancer patients in the informative and decisional
processes during oncological consultations. a clinical multi-centre control
trial.
Claudia Goss, Giuseppe Deledda, Mariangela Mazzi, Christa
Zimmermann, Lidia Del Piccolo
Description and aims of the study: The main aim is to assess if a
pre-consultation intervention (prompt-sheet) facilitates greater participation
of patients in the consultation process by determining an increase in
questioning and/or in the number of different illness related issues
(diagnosis, treatment, prognosis) being discussed with the oncologist. Other
aims are to assess: a) the effect of the intervention on the level of
patient involvement by the oncologist during the consultation, b) the verbal
doctor patient interactions, c) the role of key persons accompanying the
patient, on shared decision making process. The hypotheses are that
patients of the experimental group ask a greater number of questions, are
more involved in information exchange and decisional processes, more satisfied
with the achievement of their needs and that consultations are characterized by
greater patient-centeredness.
Evaluation
of the effects of a training in communication skills in Psychiatry
Michela Rimondini, Claudia Goss, Mariangela Mazzi, Lidia Del Piccolo,
Christa Zimmermann
Description and aims: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the
effects played by a training in communication skills specific for
psychiatric setting. The 16-hour course is divided in 4 interactive encounters,
where participants through role-play, videofeedback and brainstorming recognize
and correct their communication style. The study is based on an "Interrupted
time series design" where each psychiatrist (10 residents) interviews 8
different simulated psychiatric patients (4 males e 4 females) before and
other 4 (2 males e 2 females) after the training, all balanced for disorder
portrait (anxiety or mood disorders).
Emotional cues
and concerns in psychiatry: the way they arise and the way they are responded
to by health providers
Lidia Del Piccolo, Michela Rimondini, Claudia Goss, Francesca Moretti,
Mariangela Mazzi, Christa Zimmermann
Description and aims: The Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional
Sequences (VR-CoDES) is a consensus based system available to interested
researchers free of charge on http://www.each.nl. The
system has been developed by an international group of researchers (the Verona
Network on Sequence Analysis), to code patient expressions of emotional
distress (defined as cue or concern) in medical consultations.
The study is based on the application of the VR-Codes to a set of psychiatric
consultations to verify its reliability and to examine in detail how patients'
emotions arise during the consultation. Also psychiatrists' immediate (lag1)
responses are analysed and described. The aim of the study is to describe how
emotions come out and how they are handled by health providers, to have an
accurate picture of the abilities and the gaps in this important topic of
communication skills.
LINK E DOWNLOADS
http://www.each.nl
http://www.physicianpatient
Patient Education and Counseling
EVENTS
25-26 February 2010, Verona. IX Meeting VERONA NETWORK ON SEQUENCE ANALYSIS