Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Dec:2:100151.
doi: 10.1016/j.pecinn.2023.100151. Epub 2023 Mar 29.

Teaching (remotely) to communicate (remotely) with relatives of patients during lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Ara Ayora  1 , Carme Nogueras  2 , Sonia Jiménez-Panés  3 , Sergi Cortiñas-Rovira  4
Affiliations

Teaching (remotely) to communicate (remotely) with relatives of patients during lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Ara Ayora et al. PEC Innov. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

Aim: In 2020, due to the pandemic, the lack of specific knowledge on breaking bad news over the phone became apparent. This study aims at assessing the differences, or lack thereof, in satisfaction reported by participants in the different formats of a course in telephone communication for breaking bad news to families of patients, developed based on the previous experience of a team dedicated to this task during the peak of the pandemic.

Methods: Four courses were delivered, two in a fully streamed format and two in a blended format, part pre-recorded, part streamed. There were 41 attendants, mostly doctors, but also nurses, social workers, occupational therapists, and administrative staff who deal with families. Subsequently, a survey was conducted to assess the degree of satisfaction of the participants.

Results: Both formats scored very positively, with small advantages for the fully streamed format, mainly due to the difference in interaction activities.

Conclusions: The main conclusion is the need for these courses, which are demanded by the professionals themselves, without forgetting the benefit obtained from interprofessional education that enriches interaction and learning.

Innovation: The inclusion of administrative staff allows for a global vision of care for family members, which improves it.

Keywords: Bad news; COVID-19; Communication; Interprofessional education; Medical Education; Professional patient relations.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Age distribution.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Ages of respondents.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Content rating.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Assessment of implementation.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Overall assessment of the course.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. de España Gobierno. Estado de Alarma. Crisis sanitaria COVID-19 [State of emergency. COVID-19 health crisis] 2023. https://www.lamoncloa.gob.es/covid-19/Paginas/estado-de-alarma.aspx Retrieved from. Accessed 16 Apr 21.
    1. Tanne J.H., Hayasaki E., Zastrow M., et al. Covid-19: how doctors and healthcare systems are tackling coronavirus worldwide. BMJ Glob Health. 2020;368 doi: 10.1136/bmj.m1090. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chisholm M., Kalsi M., Kelly M., et al. A novel illness, a novel communications approach. HSS J. 2020;1-4 doi: 10.1007/s11420-020-09803-2. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rubinelli S., Myers K., Rosenbaum M., et al. Implications of the current COVID-19 pandemic for communication in healthcare. Patient Educ Couns. 2020;103(6):1067. doi: 10.1016/j.pec.2020.04.021. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Buckman R. JHU Press; Maryland: 1992. How to break bad news: a guide for health care professionals; p. 68.