Improving cancer caregiver communication and health literacy with a brief online training module

Wittenberg, Elaine; Goldsmith, Joy; Rios, Melissa

doi:10.1002/pon.6003

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…We previously used this adapted scale with cancer caregivers, finding reliable internal consistency (α = .879). 22 Similarly, in this study, the adapted scale had reliable internal consistency (α = .847). The revised items included: “I believe I am an important part of the healthcare team,” “I believe I need support from the healthcare team,” “I am aware of how challenging it can be to be part of the healthcare team,” and “I am committed to supporting the healthcare team as best as I can.” A 5-point Likert scale was used (1-strongly disagree to 5-strongly agree) with a possible range of total scores as 4-20.…”

Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 64%

“…The module was an adaptation of a cancer caregiver communication and health literacy module previously shown to improve caregiver communication attitudes, knowledge, and skills. 22 The content was revised to include examples of dementia caregiving and the module consisted of a video, a practical exercise, and was designed to last 15-minutes. The module focused on teaching strategies for promoting active caregiver engagement with healthcare providers.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Improving Dementia Caregiver Activation With a Brief Communication Module

Wittenberg,

Sullivan,

Rios

2023

Am J Hosp Palliat Care

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Objective: Palliative care often plays a pivotal role in supporting informal caregivers of persons living with dementia who experience a lack of continuity in care. Dementia caregiver activation, the caregiver’s willingness and ability to navigate care needs, requires communication skills for developing relationships with healthcare providers. Communication activation is important because caregivers facilitate physician and patient information exchange. This study aimed to explore changes in communication outcomes (attitude, knowledge, and skills) and impact on caregiver communication activation (confidence, self-report) following completion of a brief communication module. Methods: A 15-minute asynchronous online module was developed to provide caregivers with communication skills for working with doctors and nurses. Caregivers completed pre/post module measures of communication outcomes, a vignette for applying communication strategies and were interviewed within a week of module completion to assess self-reported communication activation. Module acceptability was also evaluated. Results: Communication knowledge ( P < .01) significantly increased and nearly all participants (99%) demonstrated use of module-specific communication skills after completing the module. While not statistically significant, caregiver attitudes were in the expected direction. Caregiver self-reported communication confidence ( P < .001) significantly increased and 84% of caregivers described communication activation at post-module. Caregivers (83%) were likely to recommend the module. Conclusions: The brief communication module for dementia caregivers in this project offers an online resource with low time-burden that results in caregiver communication activation. Future testing in the clinical setting will increase understanding of its efficacy and integration and could be a viable resource for palliative care providers.

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Section: Methodssupporting

confidence: 64%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%