Background: Communication training for healthcare providers is evident in the context of the COVID-19 global pandemic, however training opportunities are not available in countries with limited resources. Objectives: To investigate perceived comfort in communication about end-of-life and palliative care among healthcare providers in Nairobi, Kenya and to evaluate a pilot webinar-based communication training series. Methods: Through a partnership with a research hospital in Nairobi, healthcare providers engaged an online survey to assess perceived comfort in communication and prior educational training in communication. The COMFORT communication model was used to develop and pilot a webinar-based communication training series to meet training needs. Pre-post measures of comfort in communication and post-curriculum evaluation were used to evaluate the webinars. Results: Survey findings from 94 healthcare providers demonstrated that communication training is most needed when patient/family culture is different from provider. Physicians reported less comfort in communication than nurses and other professionals, especially in communication with family about spiritual or religious concerns. Nurses reported more overall training in palliative care communication topics than physicians and other disciplines. The 3-part webinar series increased communication comfort for physicians and nurses, was highly rated, and participants reported that they would recommend COMFORT webinar training to colleagues. Conclusion: Webinar-based platforms for communication training show promise for meeting communication training needs of healthcare providers.

Families are bound to experience adversities, which can be a single event or persist for many years, such as the diagnosis and prognosis of dementia, or the process of caring for a family member with cancer. When such life disruptions occur, family members have to renegotiate roles while adapting to a new normal. Resilience is a discursive practice that family members engage in when normalcy is disrupted. This entry introduces two communication theories addressing family resilience. Buzzanell's communication theory of resilience provides insights into how family members experience and achieve resilience in difficult health communication contexts. The theory of resilience and relational load presented by Afifi and colleagues identifies four propositions that all identify communicative maintenance, communal orientation, and emotional reserve as central in understanding how families perform resilience in the face of difficult change. Research in applied topics as they relate to the theories of resilience is offered, as well as an overview of future research pathways in the areas of health and resilience as they involve family communication.