Clinical yarning education: development and pilot evaluation of an education program to improve clinical communication in Aboriginal health care - participant, and health manager perspectives

Abstract Background Effective communication between health care clinicians and Aboriginal patients is critical to delivering high quality, accessible, culturally secure health care. Despite this, ineffective communication is a well-documented barrier, and few studies have reported interventions to i...

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Main Authors: Ivan Lin, Wanda Flanagan, Charmaine Green, Anne Lowell, Juli Coffin, Dawn Bessarab
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2023-11-01
Series:BMC Medical Education
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04843-8
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author Ivan Lin
Wanda Flanagan
Charmaine Green
Anne Lowell
Juli Coffin
Dawn Bessarab
author_facet Ivan Lin
Wanda Flanagan
Charmaine Green
Anne Lowell
Juli Coffin
Dawn Bessarab
author_sort Ivan Lin
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Effective communication between health care clinicians and Aboriginal patients is critical to delivering high quality, accessible, culturally secure health care. Despite this, ineffective communication is a well-documented barrier, and few studies have reported interventions to improve communication. Clinical Yarning is a patient centred communication framework for Aboriginal health care. Building on this framework, this study reports the development and evaluation of a Clinical Yarning education program. Methods A Clinical Yarning education program was developed, underpinned by the principles of cultural security and adult learning, informed by a behavioural skills approach. The program was delivered in five health/education settings in one rural Western Australian region. Mixed-methods evaluation included a retrospective pre/post questionnaire to ascertain changes in participants’ knowledge, confidence, competence and their perceptions about communication in Aboriginal health care, and the program. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were undertaken with health service managers who oversaw each health care setting and who had not participated in the education program, to explore perceptions about the program and implementation considerations. Results Twenty-eight health care clinicians and six students completed training and the evaluation survey. There were significant improvements in self-rated communication skills, ability, confidence, knowledge, and perceived importance of communication training from pre to post-program. Participants strongly recommended the program to others, and most commonly valued the simulation/interactive learning activities. Health service managers acknowledged the limitations in most existing cultural training, and felt Clinical Yarning addressed a need; both the concept of Clinical Yarning and the education program provided were valued. Considerations identified for future implementation included: building multilevel partnerships within health services, offering alternate training options such as eLearning or train-the-trainer approaches, and integrating into existing development programs. Workforce transiency and availability were a barrier, particularly in remote areas. Conclusions This study offers preliminary support for the Clinical Yarning education program and provides a foundation for further development of this training approach. A future priority is implementation research to investigate the impact of the Clinical Yarning education program on health care and patient outcomes.
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spelling doaj.art-35ee18af68544103ae0c185ef257229e2023-12-03T12:26:34ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202023-11-0123111310.1186/s12909-023-04843-8Clinical yarning education: development and pilot evaluation of an education program to improve clinical communication in Aboriginal health care - participant, and health manager perspectivesIvan Lin0Wanda Flanagan1Charmaine Green2Anne Lowell3Juli Coffin4Dawn Bessarab5Western Australian Centre for Rural Health, University of Western AustraliaWestern Australian Centre for Rural Health, University of Western AustraliaWestern Australian Centre for Rural Health, University of Western AustraliaResearch Centre for Health and Wellbeing, Charles Darwin UniversityNgangk Yira Institute for Change, Murdoch UniversityCentre for Aboriginal Medical and Dental Health, University of Western AustraliaAbstract Background Effective communication between health care clinicians and Aboriginal patients is critical to delivering high quality, accessible, culturally secure health care. Despite this, ineffective communication is a well-documented barrier, and few studies have reported interventions to improve communication. Clinical Yarning is a patient centred communication framework for Aboriginal health care. Building on this framework, this study reports the development and evaluation of a Clinical Yarning education program. Methods A Clinical Yarning education program was developed, underpinned by the principles of cultural security and adult learning, informed by a behavioural skills approach. The program was delivered in five health/education settings in one rural Western Australian region. Mixed-methods evaluation included a retrospective pre/post questionnaire to ascertain changes in participants’ knowledge, confidence, competence and their perceptions about communication in Aboriginal health care, and the program. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were undertaken with health service managers who oversaw each health care setting and who had not participated in the education program, to explore perceptions about the program and implementation considerations. Results Twenty-eight health care clinicians and six students completed training and the evaluation survey. There were significant improvements in self-rated communication skills, ability, confidence, knowledge, and perceived importance of communication training from pre to post-program. Participants strongly recommended the program to others, and most commonly valued the simulation/interactive learning activities. Health service managers acknowledged the limitations in most existing cultural training, and felt Clinical Yarning addressed a need; both the concept of Clinical Yarning and the education program provided were valued. Considerations identified for future implementation included: building multilevel partnerships within health services, offering alternate training options such as eLearning or train-the-trainer approaches, and integrating into existing development programs. Workforce transiency and availability were a barrier, particularly in remote areas. Conclusions This study offers preliminary support for the Clinical Yarning education program and provides a foundation for further development of this training approach. A future priority is implementation research to investigate the impact of the Clinical Yarning education program on health care and patient outcomes.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04843-8IndigenousCultural securitySafetyCompetenceTrainingQuality
spellingShingle Ivan Lin
Wanda Flanagan
Charmaine Green
Anne Lowell
Juli Coffin
Dawn Bessarab
Clinical yarning education: development and pilot evaluation of an education program to improve clinical communication in Aboriginal health care - participant, and health manager perspectives
BMC Medical Education
Indigenous
Cultural security
Safety
Competence
Training
Quality
title Clinical yarning education: development and pilot evaluation of an education program to improve clinical communication in Aboriginal health care - participant, and health manager perspectives
title_full Clinical yarning education: development and pilot evaluation of an education program to improve clinical communication in Aboriginal health care - participant, and health manager perspectives
title_fullStr Clinical yarning education: development and pilot evaluation of an education program to improve clinical communication in Aboriginal health care - participant, and health manager perspectives
title_full_unstemmed Clinical yarning education: development and pilot evaluation of an education program to improve clinical communication in Aboriginal health care - participant, and health manager perspectives
title_short Clinical yarning education: development and pilot evaluation of an education program to improve clinical communication in Aboriginal health care - participant, and health manager perspectives
title_sort clinical yarning education development and pilot evaluation of an education program to improve clinical communication in aboriginal health care participant and health manager perspectives
topic Indigenous
Cultural security
Safety
Competence
Training
Quality
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12909-023-04843-8
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