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Abstract
Purpose: It was assessed whether a post-graduate communication skills training course would increase physicians’ competence and knowledge with regard to communication during work disability assessment interviews, and would change the determinants of their communication behaviour. Methods: A randomised controlled trial was performed. At baseline and at follow-up, 42 physicians completed questionnaires. The primary outcome measures were competence and knowledge about communication. The secondary outcome measures were 21 self-reported determinants of communication behaviour. One-way analyses of variance and covariance were performed. Results: There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in overall competence, but there was for the introduction phase (intervention: mean = 7.0, SD 2.7; control: mean = 4.8, SD 2.7; p = 0.014). Knowledge about communication was significantly higher (p = 0.001) in the intervention group (mean = 79.6, SD 9.2) than in the control group (mean = 70.9, SD 6.7), especially concerning the information-gathering phase of the interview (intervention: mean = 80.0, SD 10.2; control: mean = 69.4, SD 8.9; p = 0.001). The intervention group scored significantly better on 7 of the 21 self-reported determinants (secondary outcomes), including self-efficacy, intentions, skills and knowledge. Conclusions: The communication skills training course may improve some aspects of physician communication, but not all. Because physicians were unanimously positive about the course, further development is warranted.
Even though optimal communication is essential in face-to-face assessment interviews for determining entitlement to work disability benefits, and there is a lot at stake for the claimants, this issue has scarcely been addressed in scientific research.
A tailor-made two-day communication skills training course, based on scientific research, increases physicians’ knowledge about communication (both objectively measured and self-reported), their self-efficacy and their intention to pay explicit attention to their communication during assessment interviews.
The participants evaluated the communication skills training course as very positive, which indicates a successful application of scientific research in practice.
It is essential to offer physicians assessing entitlement to work disability benefits the opportunity to attend post-graduate communication skills training courses, which are tailored to their needs and are continuously evaluated and improved.
Implications for Rehabilitation
Acknowledgements
The authors thank everyone who participated in the “Professional Claimant Communication” training course. They are especially grateful to Joke van der Lugt and Ed Krijgsman, from the Educational Department of the Dutch Institute of Employee Benefit Schemes, for their inspiring and pleasant way of teaching the course. They also thank senior researcher Wout de Boer, at the time of the study working for the TNO Quality of Life research institute in the Netherlands, and at present for the Academy of Swiss Insurance Medicine in Basel, Switzerland, for his valuable contribution to the development of the training course and the measurement instruments for the evaluation. They are also grateful to Karlijn van Beurden, who at the time of the study worked as a research assistant at the Research Center for Insurance Medicine, for her practical assistance. This research project was funded by the Dutch “Stichting Instituut Gak”, a foundation that initiates and supports innovative projects in the Dutch welfare sector. Additional support was obtained from the Dutch Institute of Employee Benefit Schemes (UWV).
Declaration of interests
The authors report no conflicts of interest that are relevant to the content of this article.