Trial reportPloS one2015
Training Medical Specialists to Communicate Better with Patients with Medically Unexplained Physical Symptoms (MUPS). A Randomized, Controlled Trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
18 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Clinical skills development for healthcare practitioners working with patients with persistent physical symptoms (PPS) in healthcare settings: a systematic review and narrative synthesis.BMC medical education · 2024Pooled it
- Education on medically unexplained symptoms: a systematic review with a focus on cultural diversity and migrants.European journal of medical research · 2023Pooled it
- Continuing education meetings and workshops: effects on professional practice and healthcare outcomes.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Behavioural modification interventions for medically unexplained symptoms in primary care: systematic reviews and economic evaluation.Health technology assessment (Winchester, England) · 2020Pooled it
- Functional Somatic Symptoms.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2019Pooled it
- Intervention Descriptions in Medical Education: What Can Be Improved? A Systematic Review and Checklist.Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges · 2019Pooled it
- The randomized clinical trial results of the anxiety treatment in patients with somatoform dysfunction and neurotic disorders.Scientific reports · 2021Trial
- Effects of training physicians in electronic prescribing in the outpatient setting on clinical, learning and behavioural outcomes: a cluster randomized trial.British journal of clinical pharmacology · 2018Trial
- Patients' experience with medical communication about medically unexplained symptoms.Communications medicine · 2026Article
- Reply: Reassurance Is Necessary but Not Sufficient: Communication Skills and Diagnostic Restraint in Disorders of Gut-Brain Interaction.Neurogastroenterology and motility · 2026Article
- Evaluation of an Invisible Illness Communication Strategy Curriculum Among Internal Medicine Interns.Cureus · 2026Article
- Thirty Minutes to Transform Care: A Mixed-Methods Study on Brief Psychosomatic Education for Unexplained Symptoms.Cureus · 2025Article
- Improving general practitioners' approaches to functional somatic syndromes: a pilot training program with a focus on compassion and communication.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Internal medicine at the crossroads of long COVID diagnosis and management.Frontiers in medicine · 2025Review
- Medical educators' experiences on medically unexplained symptoms and intercultural communication-an expert focus group study.BMC medical education · 2022Article
- The Fingerprints of Biomedical Science in Internal Medicine.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2022Article
- Teaching and assessing communication skills in the postgraduate medical setting: a systematic scoping review.BMC medical education · 2021Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPatients with medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) are prevalent 25-50% in general and specialist care. Medical specialists and residents often find patients without underlying pathology difficult to deal with, whereas patients sometimes don't feel understood. We developed an evidence-based communication training, aimed to improve specialists' interviewing, information-giving and planning skills in MUPS consultations, and tested its effectiveness.
methodsThe intervention group in this multi-center randomized controlled trial received a 14-hour training program to which experiential learning and feedback were essential. Using techniques from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, they were stimulated to seek interrelating factors (symptoms, cognitions, emotions, behavior, and social environment) that reinforced a patient's symptoms. They were taught to explain MUPS understandably, reassure patients effectively and avoid unnecessary diagnostic testing. Before and after the intervention training, specialists videotaped a total of six consultations with different MUPS patients. These were evaluated to assess doctors' MUPS-focused communicating skills using an adapted version of the Four Habit Coding Scheme on five-point Likert scales. Participants evaluated the training by self-report on three-point Likert scales. Doctors in the control group received training after completion of the study.
results123 doctors (40% specialists, 60% residents) and 478 MUPS patients from 11 specialties were included; 98 doctors completed the study (80%) and 449 videotaped consultations were assessed. Trained doctors interviewed patients more effectively than untrained ones (p < 0.001), summarized information in a more patient-centered way (p = 0.001), and better explained MUPS and the role of perpetuating factors (p < 0.05). No effects on planning skills were found. On a 3-point scale the training was evaluated with 2.79.
conclusionMUPS-focused communication training increases the interviewing and information-giving skills of medical specialists. We recommend that the training is incorporated in postgraduate education for medical specialists and residents who frequently encounter patients with MUPS.
trial registrationDutch Trial Registration NTR2612.
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