Skip to main content
OpenTrials
Completed

NCT Number: NCT02468869

Improving Discharge Communication in the Emergency Department Through Information Structuring

The goal of the proposed study is to assess the potential of information structuring for improving discharge communication. Specifically, the investigators aim to examine the advantages of an information-structuring skills training for physicians (compared to an empathy skills training) on discharge communication and associated patient outcomes, such as patients' information recall and adherence to physician recommendations. The investigators hypothesize that patients receiving structured discharge information from their trained physicians will be able to recall more information and show higher adherence to recommendations relative to controls (i.e., patients receiving discharge information from doctors trained in empathy skills).

Completed

Looking for future studies?

Notify Me

Key information

Conditions

Information Structuring Skills Behavior Empathy Skills Personal Satisfaction

Age range

18 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

University Hospital Basel, Emergency Department

Basel, Canton of Basel-City, 4031, Switzerland

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Outpatients with chest pain
  • Outpatients with abdominal pain

Exclusion criteria

  • Patients younger than 18 years of age (limited ability to provide informed consent)
  • Patients with limited ability to communicate in German, the default language at the hospital (confounder related to language proficiency)
  • Patients with dementia (confounder arising from pathological memory deficits)

Treatment and study plan

Communication skills training "empathy skills"

Behavioral

Communication skills training "information structuring skills"

Behavioral

Primary outcomes

  1. Patients' recall of the information provided during discharge communication

    Time frame: 3 times: immediately after discharge, one week after discharge, one month after discharge

Secondary outcomes

  1. Adherence to recommendations

    Time frame: 2 times: one week and one month after discharge

  2. Patient satisfaction in four dimensions

    Time frame: Immediately after discharge

    (1) comprehension, (2) structuredness (3) recommendation of the physician to family and friends (4) informativeness

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland

Other

Collaborators

  • Max Planck Institute for Human Development
  • University of Basel

Registry information

Official study title

Improving Discharge Communication in the Emergency Department Through Information Structuring: A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Important dates

Study start
2015
Primary completion
2017
Study completion
2017
First posted
Jun 11, 2015
Registry last updated
Oct 23, 2018

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

Related clinical trials

Published trials that share one or more normalized conditions with this study.