Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-m8qmq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-23T10:40:35.580Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Beyond communication: The development of a training program for hospital and hospice staff in the detection and management of psychological distress—Preliminary results

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 February 2010

Kate Jenkins ,
Beccy Alberry ,
Jane Daniel ,
Laura Dixie ,
Vivien North ,
Lawrence Patterson ,
Sarah Pestell  and
Nigel North
Kate Jenkins*
Affiliation:
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Beccy Alberry
Affiliation:
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Jane Daniel
Affiliation:
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Laura Dixie
Affiliation:
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Vivien North
Affiliation:
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Lawrence Patterson
Affiliation:
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Sarah Pestell
Affiliation:
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
Nigel North
Affiliation:
Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, Salisbury, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Kate Jenkins, Clinical Psychology (Health), Salisbury District Hospital, Salisbury, Wiltshire, SP2 8BJ, UK. E-mail: kate.jenkins@salisbury.nhs.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

In the United Kingdom, a Four-Tier Model of Psychological Support has been recommended for all patients with cancer and their families. This model suggests that staff at Tier 2, such as nurses, doctors, and allied health professionals, should be proficient in screening for psychological distress and intervening with techniques such as psycho-education and problem solving. Research has suggested that although communication skills training is essential for staff working in cancer services, it does not necessarily improve the detection of specific psychological disorder or staff confidence in intervening with highly distressed patients. The objective was therefore to design a training program that addressed this deficit and was easily accessible to hospital staff.

Method:. A training package was developed to train staff in the recommended skills. A literature review of teaching modalities and the effectiveness of different formats was conducted. A four-session program was developed, to be administered by staff at Tiers 3 and 4 of the model, such as clinical psychologists and counsellors.

Results:

Over 3 years, 255 sets of data were collected from staff who attended the course. Precourse, postcourse, and 6-month follow-up data were collected through the use of confidence questionnaires, developed from the literature. The data show a significant improvement in staff confidence across all domains measured, including confidence in the detection and management of psychological distress (p =.0001).

Significance of results:

Although the results have limitations and the data are subjective, we can conclude that this course significantly improves staff confidence in dealing with psychological distress and that this increased confidence is maintained over a 6-month follow-up period.

Keywords

CancerOncologyTeachingDistressCommunication
Type
Original Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 8 , Issue 1 , March 2010 , pp. 27 - 33
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Back, A., Arnold, R., Baile, W., et al. (2007). Efficacy of Communication Skills Training for giving bad news and discussing transitions to palliative care. Archives of Internal Medicine, 167, 453–460.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carlson, L.E. & Bultz, B. (2003). Cancer distress screening: Needs, models and methods. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 55, 403–409.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fawzy, F. (1999). Psychosocial interventions for patients with cancer. What works and what doesn't? European Journal of Cancer Care, 35, 1559–1564.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fellowes, D., Wilkinson, S., & Moore, P. (2004). Communication skills training for healthcare professionals working with cancer patients, their families and/or carers. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Issue 2, Art. No: CD003751.Google ScholarPubMed
Frost, M., Brueggen, C., & Mangan, M. (1997). Intervening with the psychosocial needs of patients and families: Perceived importance and skill level. Cancer Nursing, 20, 350–358.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Grassi, L., Travado, L., Gil, F., et al. (2005). A communication intervention for training southern European oncologists to recognize psychosocial morbidity in cancer. I-development of the model and preliminary results on physicians' satisfaction. Journal of Cancer Education, 20, 79–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Helgeson, V., Cohen, S., Schulz, R., et al. (1999). Education and peer discussion group interventions and adjustment to breast cancer. Archives of General Psychiatry, 56, 340–347.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Jenkins, V. & Fallowfield, L. (2002). Can communication skills training alter physicians' beliefs and behaviour in clinics? Journal of Clinical Oncology, 20, 765–769.Google ScholarPubMed
Keller, M., Sommerfeldt, S., Fischer, C., et al. (2004). Recognition of distress and psychiatric morbidity in cancer patients: A multi-method approach. Annals of Oncology, 15, 1243–1249.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maguire, P. & Pitceathly, C. (2003). Improving the psychological care of cancer patients and their relatives. The role of specialist nurses. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 55, 469–474.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McArdle, J., George, W., McArdle, C., et al. (1996). Psychological support for patients undergoing breast cancer surgery: A randomized study. British Medical Journal, 312, 813–816.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merckaert, I., Libert, Y., & Razavi, D. (2005). Communication skills training in cancer care: Where are we and where are we going? Current Opinion in Oncology, 17, 319–330.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Inc. (2005). Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Distress Management. Retrieved July 2007 from http://www.nccn.org/professionals/physician_gls/f_guidelines.asp.Google Scholar
National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence (March 2004). Improving Supportive and Palliative Care for Adults with Cancer. London, UK: Nice.Google Scholar
Ryan, H., Schofield, P., Cockburn, J., et al. (2005). How to recognise and manage psychological distress in cancer patients. European Journal of Cancer Care, 14, 7–15.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Soothill, K., Morris, S., Harman, J., et al. (2001). The significant unmet needs of cancer patients: Probing psychosocial concerns. Supportive Care in Cancer, 9, 597–605.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilkinson, S., Leliopoulou, C., Gambles, M., et al. (2003). Can intensive three-day programs improve nurses' communication skills in cancer care? Psycho-oncology, 12, 747–759.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zigmond, A.S. & Snaith, R.P. (1983). The Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 67, 361–370.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zwahlen, D., Hagenbuch, N., Carley, M., et al. (2008). Screening cancer patients' families with the distress thermometer (DT): A validation study. Psych-Oncology, 17, 959–966.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed