Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41318531›Full record

ArticleBMC palliative care2025

All providers Better Communication Skills (ABCs) program: protocol for a randomized controlled trial assessing communication training effectiveness with interprofessional clinicians.

Hsien Seow, Anish K Arora, Daryl Bainbridge, Zhimeng Jia, Leah Steinberg, Nadia Incardona, Oren Levine, Justin J Sanders, Jessica Simon, Amanda Roze des Ordons and 2 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readClinical Trial Protocol
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC palliative care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT06606470 (All Providers Better Communication Skills Program'), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT06606470 narecruitingnot on this map

All Providers Better Communication Skills Program' (ABCs) Interprofessional Provider Education Randomized Controlled Trial

TypeinterventionalSponsorMcMaster UniversityRan2024 to 2027Enrolled350ConditionsEducation of Primary Care Clinicians, Palliative Care, CommunicationArmsAll providers Better Communication Skills program' (ABCs) interprofessional provider education
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Hsien SeowDepartment of Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, 699 Concession Street Suite 4-204, Hamilton, ON, L8V 5C2, Canada. seowh@mcmaster.ca.
Anish K AroraDepartment of Health Sciences, Faculty of Science, Wilfrid Laurier University, Waterloo, ON, Canada.
Daryl BainbridgeJuravinski Cancer Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Zhimeng JiaDepartment of Family & Community Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Leah SteinbergDepartment of Family & Community Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Nadia IncardonaDepartment of Family & Community Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Oren LevineDepartment of Oncology, Faculty of Health Sciences, McMaster University, 699 Concession Street Suite 4-204, Hamilton, ON, L8V 5C2, Canada.
Justin J SandersDepartment of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Jessica SimonDepartment of Oncology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Amanda Roze des OrdonsDepartment of Critical Care Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Karen ZhangJuravinski Cancer Centre, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Jeff MyersDepartment of Family & Community Medicine, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHigh-quality person-centred communication for those living with serious illness benefits patients, families, and health care professionals (HCPs). However, research suggests that HCPs often find it challenging to engage in these discussions. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the 'All providers Better Communication Skills' (ABCs), an online blended learning program delivered over three months. The ABCs program seeks to complement existing programs by adopting an interprofessional and person-centred educational philosophy, teaching core communication skills that can be utilized by any clinician across many conversations and healthcare settings, and investigating outcomes focused on clinician's skill acquisition and behavior change.

methodsWe will conduct a Canada-wide prospective stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial with interprofessional HCPs. All participants will receive the intervention, however, there will be a delay in the intervention for those randomly assigned to the control group. Our study will measure change in pre and post intervention scores for all participants. The primary outcome consists of external expert rater assessments of participants' video-recorded Standardized Patient (SP) encounters using the validated Assessment of Clinical Encounters - Communication Tool. Secondary outcomes include: participant self-assessments on self-efficacy using the validated Self-Efficacy-12 measure, as well as competence using the Patient and Family-Centered Communication subscale from the validated End-of-Life Professional Caregiver Survey; and SP ratings using the validated Questionnaire on the Quality of Physician-Patient Interaction and Feeling Heard and Understood measures. Learning experience and perceived usability of the program will also be assessed through the validated Blended Learning Usability Evaluation - Questionnaire and semi-structured interviews following program completion. DISCUSSION: This study is a national trial evaluating the effectiveness of a communication program for interprofessional HCPs. This research will generate evidence on ways of improving conversations about serious illness. With improved communication skills, clinicians can better support patients and families in their illness understanding, deliver care that better aligns with their patients' goals and values, improve care-related outcomes and experiences, and optimize healthcare resources - all of which can support health system strengthening.

trial registrationhttps://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT06606470 .

Indexed as

CommunicationHealth PersonnelInterprofessional RelationsCanadaHumansProspective StudiesRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicContinuing professional developmentHealth personnelHealth professions educationInterprofessionalMedical educationProfessional competenceRandomized controlled trialSerious illness communicationTraining programs

Identifiers

PMID41318531
PMCPMC12772052

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.