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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Evaluation and communication: using a communication audit to evaluate organizational communication.

This article identifies a surprising dearth of studies that explicitly link communication and evaluation at substantive, theoretical, and methodological levels. A three-fold typology of evaluation studies referring to communication is proposed and examples given. The importance of organizational communication in program delivery is stressed and illustrative studies reviewed. It is proposed that organizational communication should be considered in all program evaluations and that this should be approached through communication audit. Communication audits are described with particular reference to established survey questionnaire instruments. Two case studies exemplify the use of such instruments in the evaluation of educational and social programs.

Communication↗
PubMed1985

Gap-junctional communication in a communication-defective and in a communication-competent teratocarcinoma cell line.

We examined the gap-junctional communication properties of a communication-defective cell line R5/3 and its communication-competent revertant H2T12. For these studies, we carried out microelectrode impalements to monitor ionic coupling and dye coupling. Our dye-injection experiments revealed that the H2T12 cells are much more efficient in dye coupling than the R5/3 cells. This latter observation is in agreement with the previous finding that the H2T12 cells are much better metabolically coupled than the R5/3 cells. With ionic coupling measurements, however, both cell lines exhibited similar levels of cell-cell coupling. The R5/3 cells demonstrated an ionic coupling coefficient of 0.19 +/- 0.011 (S.E.M.) and H2T12 a coupling coefficient of 0.25 +/- 0.009 (S.E.M.). These results in conjunction with observations from other studies indicate that the different experimental approaches for monitoring gap-junctional communication may have different levels of sensitivity for detecting as opposed to measuring the level of cell-cell coupling.

Cell Communication↗
PubMed1977

Intercellular communication and tissue growth: IX. Junctional membrane structure of hybrids between communication-competent and communication-incompetent cells.

The structure of the membrane junctions of the hybrid cell system, examined in the companion paper in respect to competence for communication through cell-to-cell membrane channels, is here examined by freeze-fracture electron microscopy. The junctions of the channel-competent parent cell and of the channel-competent hybrid cells present aggregates of intramembranous particles typical of "gap junction"; those of the channel-incompetent parent cell and channel-incompetent segregant hybrid cells do not. Competence for junctional communication and for gap junction formation are genetically related. The junctions of the intermediate hybrid cells with incomplete channel-competence (characterized by cell-to-cell transfer of small inorganic ions but not of fluorescein), present special intramembranous fibrillar structures instead of discrete gap-junctional particles. The possibility that these structures may constitute coupling elements with subnormal permeability is discussed in terms of incomplete dominance of the genetic determinants of gap junction.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

The effect of family and peer communication on college students' communication with dating partners about HIV and AIDS.

As family and peers are primary socializing agents in the lives of young adults, a social learning based model of communication about HIV/AIDS among dating partners was developed and tested, examining the role of interactions with family and peers in this type of communication. Specifically, the model describes relationships between general communication, communication about sexuality, and communication about HIV/AIDS with parents, peers, and dating partners. Participants were 153 young adult couples who completed measures of their communication practices, as well as their communication with family and peers. Communication practices in the family of origin appear to influence both general communication and communication about HIV/AIDS with dating partners. Communication practices with peers influenced general communication, communication about sexuality, and communication about HIV/AIDS with dating partners. Participants and their dating partners exhibited relative agreement about their general communication practices and their communication about HIV/AIDS, but showed less agreement in reports of their communication about sexuality. Implications for understanding the role of family and peer interactions in communication about HIV/AIDS with dating partners are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2006

Comparison of communication skills in medical residents with and without undergraduate communication skills training as provided by the Faculty of Medicine of Gadjah Mada University.

OBJECTIVE: To promote better doctor-patient relationships in clinical practice, many medical faculties have introduced practical communication skills training programs for their students. This study is aimed at comparing the communication skills of graduates of the Faculty of Medicine of Gadjah Mada University, Indonesia, educated with and without communication skills training as perceived by their patients and by the graduates themselves. METHODS: Over 300 patients were seen by 18 medical residents trained in communication skills before graduation and 30 residents who had not attended this training. After consultation patients and residents completed a 39-item questionnaire addressing the doctor's communication behavior skills. In the questionnaires completed by patients the desired communication behavior of doctors was also rated. RESULTS: Patients did not observe any differences in communication behavior skills among residents who received training and those who did not. These two groups of trained and non-trained residents assessed their own communication behavior skills. On 4/39 questionnaire items patients rated the communication behavior skills of trained residents lower than the residents themselves and the ratio was 13/39 for non-trained residents. A significant gap was noted between doctors' communication behavior skills as observed and desired by their patients (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Undergraduate communication skills training in the institution under study could not be demonstrated to illustrate a difference in the communication behavior skills of its graduates from graduates from the same institution who did not attend communication skills training. Trained graduates, however, were more aware of communication behavior skills as being preferred by their patients than their peers who were not trained in communication behavior skills training during their undergraduate studies.

Communication↗
PubMed2005

Maternal responsiveness and infant intentional communication: implications for the early communicative and linguistic development.

BACKGROUND: Maternal responsiveness has been found to have an important role in early language acquisition. From early on, children can also be regarded as active participants in interaction who demonstrate increasing competence in conveying messages to their interactive partners. Hence, in order to demonstrate consistent effects of maternal responses, it is important to take into account individual differences among children. In the present study, the relation between the frequencies of maternal responses and infant intentional communicative acts as well as their predictive validity to subsequent early communicative and linguistic skills was examined. METHODS: The participants were 27 Finnish-speaking mothers and their healthy firstborn infants. Maternal and infant interactive behaviour was analysed from 20-min samples of free play collected during home visits at the infants' age of 10 months. At 12 months the children were assessed for their communicative and linguistic skills by using the Finnish version of the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories and the Communication and Symbolic Behaviour Scales. RESULTS: The frequencies of maternal responses and infant intentional communicative acts were not intercorrelated. As for subsequent communicative and linguistic skills, the results of regression analyses indicated that both maternal responsiveness and infant intentional communication predict early comprehensive skills, whereas expressive skills--the use of both verbal and gestural communicative means--are predicted only by infant intentional communication. CONCLUSION: The results of the present study suggest that maternal responsiveness during the prelinguistic stage is not necessarily dependent on children's communicative competence. As predictors of early communicative and linguistic skills, both maternal responsiveness and infant intentional communication make a distinctive contribution.

Cognition↗
PubMed2005

The relationship between checklist scores on a communication OSCE and analogue patients' perceptions of communication.

Many efforts to teach and evaluate physician-patient communication are based on two assumptions: first, that communication can be conceptualized as consisting of specific observable behaviors, and second, that physicians who exhibit certain behaviors are more effective in communicating with patients. These assumptions are usually implicit, and are seldom tested. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether specific communication behaviors are positively related to patients' perceptions of effective communication. Trained raters used a checklist to record the presence or absence of specific communication behaviors in 100 encounters in a communication Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Lay volunteers served as analogue patients and rated communication during each encounter. Correlations between checklist scores and analogue patients' ratings were not significantly different from zero for four of five OSCE cases studied. Within each case, certain communication behaviors did appear to be related to patients' ratings, but the critical behaviors were not consistent across cases. We conclude that scores from OSCE communication checklists may not predict patients' perceptions of communication. Determinants of patient perceptions of physician communication may be more subtle, more complex, and more case-specific than we were able to capture with the current checklist.

Aged↗
PubMed2005

Effects of prelinguistic communication levels on initiation and repair of communication in children with disabilities.

PURPOSE: This study examined the effects of expressive and receptive language levels on initiated and repaired communication acts by prelinguistic children with developmental disabilities. METHOD: In this descriptive study, participants were 45 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years who had severe delays in expressive communication. Some children communicated with 12 or fewer spoken words; others communicated exclusively with gestures and vocalizations. Participants also had delays in receptive language, and 41 of the 45 had below average IQ scores. The children participated in a scripted interaction with examiners that was designed to provide opportunities to initiate requests and comments, and to repair communication breakdowns. Videotapes of these interactions were later coded for analysis. RESULTS: Regression models indicated that differences in children's expressive communication levels and receptive language scores significantly predicted children's commenting communication acts during the scripted interaction, even after the authors accounted for child IQ. Expressive communication level was also a significant predictor of initiated requests when the authors controlled for IQ. Expressive communication level contributed to the variance in children's repairs following communication breakdowns; however, this contribution was not significant. CONCLUSION: Differences in levels of prelinguistic communication development predict commenting abilities in children with developmental disabilities but do not appear to predict likelihood to repair communication breakdowns.

Autistic Disorder↗
PubMed2001

Faculty attitudes towards medical communication and their perceptions of students' communication skills training at Dalhousie University.

SETTING: Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. OBJECTIVES: (1) To assess the attitudes of full-time clinical faculty members towards medical communication using the newly developed Attitudes Towards Medical Communication Scale; (2) to determine faculty members' perceptions of communications training for students and residents. METHODS: An anonymous self-completion survey was sent to 233 full-time clinical faculty members. The questionnaire asked about faculty attitudes towards medical communication, and assessed faculty members' views of student and resident training in communication. RESULTS: Faculty scored highly in the Attitudes Towards Medical Communication Scale, with a mean score of 51.5 (SD 4.1) out of a possible 60. In univariate analysis, rating of personal enjoyment of teaching, rating of the importance of teaching, and having attended at least one faculty communications workshop in the previous 5 years were significantly associated with higher scale scores. When these factors were assessed using linear regression, only having attended a workshop and higher rating of the importance of teaching remained significant. Faculty assessed student training in communications skills poorly overall. When assessing seven specific communications areas, more than 20% rated this training as poor for six of the areas for third- and fourth-year students and for five of the areas for residents. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical faculty at Dalhousie have very positive attitudes towards medical communication, and more highly positive attitudes are found in those who have attended a communications workshop. Despite this evidence that faculty appreciate the importance of medical communication skills, many assessed students' training in this curriculum area as poor.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed2003

A communication-theory based view on telemedical communication.

Communication theory based analysis sheds new light on the use of health telematics. This analysis of structures in electronic medical communication shows communicative structures with special features. Current and evolving telemedical applications are analyzed. The methodology of communicational theory (focusing on linguistic pragmatics) is used to compare it with its conventional counterpart. The semiotic model, the roles of partners, the respective message and their relation are discussed. Channels, sender, addressee, and other structural roles are analyzed for different types of electronic medical communication. The communicative processes are shown as mutual, rational action towards a common goal. The types of communication/texts are analyzed in general. Furthermore the basic communicative structures of medical education via internet are presented with their special features. The analysis shows that electronic medical communication has special features compared to everyday communication: A third participant role often is involved: the patient. Messages often are addressed to an unspecified partner or to an unspecified partner within a group. Addressing in this case is (at least partially) role-based. Communication and message often directly (rather than indirectly) influence actions of the participants. Communication often is heavily regulated including legal implications like liability, and more. The conclusion from the analysis is that the development of telemedical applications so far did not sufficiently take communicative structures into consideration. Based on these results recommendations for future developments of telemedical applications/services are given.

Communication↗
PubMed2003

Nonisthmic communicating uteri. Report of 3 new types in a new subclass of communicating uteri.

OBJECTIVE: To describe 3 new malformations and propose a new subclass of malformations, nonisthmic communicating uteri. STUDY DESIGN: Review of 17,511 hysterosalpingograms revealed 19 cases of communicating uteri. Three cases were identified that showed nonisthmic communications, previously unreported. RESULTS: The 3 new types of communicating uteri were (1) bicornuate uterus with 2 sites of communication, midcervical and isthmic; (2) septate uterus with a midcorporeal communication; and (3) bicornuate uterus with a low cervical communication and atretic hemicervix. CONCLUSION: The 3 new types of nonisthmic communicating uteri constitute a new subclass of communicating uteri. We are aware of only 1 other reported type of nonisthmic communicating uteri. Nonisthmic communications may arise from a different mechanism than isthmic communications.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1983

Communication and metacommunication: quality of children's instructions in relation to judgments about the adequacy of instructions and the locus of responsibility for communication failure.

Relationships between 5- and 7-year-old children's communicative performance, and their level of understanding about message ambiguity and communication failure, were examined in three investigations. Communicative performance was assessed in terms of quality of instructions given for constructing a Lego model or a picture from felt pieces. The child speaker instructed the experimenter (Investigations 1 and 2) or another child (Investigation 3). Level of understanding about communication was assessed by asking the child to ascribe blame for communication failure following an ambiguous message, and to judge whether the speaker had told enough. In all three investigations, children with more advanced understanding about communication gave more detailed descriptions of pieces needed and supplied more information about positioning of pieces. In addition, in the first investigation those more advanced in understanding gave their instructions in a sequence more suitable for building. In the third investigation, child pairs more advanced in understanding communicated more effectively. It was suggested that the close association between communicative performance and understanding about communication occurred because the social experience which advances understanding, namely, the giving of explicit information when and/or why a listener fails to understand what the speaker means, at the same time encourages the child speaker to take responsibility for conveying a particular meaning unambiguously: the same experiences modify both communicative behavior and understanding about communication.

Child↗
PubMed2006

Effects of alternative communication on the communicative effectiveness of an individual with a progressive language disorder.

This study was designed to investigate the effects of two different modes of communication on the communicative output of an individual who is no longer able to communicate verbally, presenting with a primary progressive aphasia and apraxia of speech. The two treatment approaches included training the patient with a text-to-speech alternative communication device and with American sign language. An alternating treatment design was used to compare two communicative approaches (an alternative communication device and American sign language) on the subject's communicative effectiveness. Communicative effectiveness was measured in terms of number of words, correct information units and percentage correct information units, using a protocol that was adapted to quantify the output generated by the alternative communication device and American sign language. Increases across all three measures resulted for both the alternative communication device and American sign language. The clinical implications are explored, and the results add to existing studies regarding treatment possibilities using alternative communication for individuals who present with a progressive speech and language disorder, without concomitant cognitive deficits.

Aphasia, Primary Progressive↗
PubMed2001

Communicating with children and adolescents about their cancer.

BACKGROUND: Communication with children and adolescents with cancer about their disease and treatment and the implications of these is an important aspect of good quality care. It is often poorly performed in practice. Various interventions have been developed that aim to enhance communication involving children or adolescents with cancer. OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of interventions to enhance communication with children and/or adolescents about their cancer, its treatment and their implications. SEARCH STRATEGY: The following electronic databases were searched: Cochrane Library; Medline; PsycLit; Cinahl; Cancerlit; EMBASE; Sociofile; Health Management Information Consortium; ASSIA; LISA; ERIC; PAIS; Information Science Abstracts; Dissertation Abstracts; JICST; Pascal; Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts; Mental Health Abstracts; AMED; MANTIS. Bibliographies of identified studies were also checked and contact made with experts in the field. SELECTION CRITERIA: Randomised and non-randomised controlled trials and before and after studies that evaluated the effects of interventions to enhance communication with children and/or adolescents about their cancer, treatment and related issues. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data relating to the interventions, populations and outcomes studied and the design and methodological quality of included studies were extracted by one reviewer and checked by another reviewer. A narrative summary of the results is presented. MAIN RESULTS: Six studies met the criteria for inclusion. They were diverse in terms of the interventions evaluated, study designs used, types of people who participated and the outcomes measured. One study of a computer-assisted education programme reported improvements in knowledge and understanding about blood counts and cancer symptoms. Two out of two studies of school reintegration programs reported improvements in some aspects of psychosocial wellbeing (one in anxiety and one in depression), social wellbeing (two in social competence and one in social support) and behavioural problems; and one reported improvements in physical competence. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Interventions to enhance communication involving children and adolescents with cancer have not been widely or rigorously assessed. The weak evidence that exists suggests that some children and adolescents with cancer may derive some benefit from specific information-giving programs and from interventions that aim to facilitate their reintegration into school and social activities. More research is needed to investigate the effects of these and other related interventions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2006

Does a new integrated PBL curriculum with specific communication skills classes produce Pre Registration House Officers (PRHOs) with improved communication skills?

Over recent years communication skills training has played an increasingly important role in UK medical curricula. When The University of Liverpool reformed its medical curriculum in 1996 from a traditional lecture-based curriculum to an integrated problem-based learning curriculum formal communication skills training was introduced into the course. The paper deals with a comparison between PRHOs' ideas about communication competencies for PRHOs who did receive communication skills training and those involved in a traditional curriculum without formal communication training. This has involved distributing questionnaires to PRHOs and their educational supervisors, holding focus groups with PRHOs and interviewing educational supervisors. Data have been collected on the last cohort of the traditional curriculum and first cohort of the new curriculum to allow comparisons between cohorts. The PRHO questionnaires show that both cohorts feel they are good communicators but the focus groups show different reasons for this. The traditional graduates feel it is because doctors are 'natural communicators' and those skills can't be taught. The PBL graduates relate their communication skills to their undergraduate tuition and found they used these techniques when communicating as PRHOs. Both the questionnaires and interviews with the consultants demonstrate they feel the communication of PRHOs has significantly improved.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed2006

Psychometric characteristics of a quality of communication questionnaire assessing communication about end-of-life care.

The importance of good clinician-patient communication to quality end-of-life care has been well documented yet there are no validated measures that allow patients to assess the quality of this communication. Using a sample of hospice patients (n = 83) and patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (n = 113), we evaluated the psychometric characteristics of a 13-item patient-centered, patient-report questionnaire about the quality of end-of-life communication (QOC). Our purpose was to explore the measurement structure of the QOC items to ascertain if the items represent unitary or multidimensional constructs and to describe the construct validity of the QOC score(s). Analyses included: principal component analyses to identify scales, internal consistency analyses to demonstrate reliability, and correlational and group comparisons to support construct validity. Findings support the construction of two scales: a six-item "general communication skills" scale and a seven-item, "communication about end-of-life care" scale. The two scales meet standards of scale measurement, including good factor convergence (values >or= 0.63) and discrimination (values different >or= 0.25), percent of variance explained (69.3%), and good internal consistency (alpha >or= 0.79). The scales' construct validity is supported by significant associations (p <or= 0.01) with items assessing overall quality of doctor communication and quality of care, number and type of end-of-life discussions, and doctor's awareness of patient's treatment preferences. The general communication skills scale correlates more strongly with the general communication items while the communication about end-of-life care scale correlates more strongly with items addressing end-of-life topics. While further validation studies are needed, this assessment of the QOC represents an important step toward providing a measure of the quality of end-of-life communication.

Aged↗
PubMed1997

Content analysis of the crew communication with external communicants under prolonged isolation.

BACKGROUND: The communication between space crews and outside monitoring personnel in Mission Control gives us valuable information about crewmember psychological health. Studying the formal parameters of similar communication during ground-based space simulation missions helps us understand the psychological climate of confined groups over time, and this information can be applied to long-term space missions. HYPOTHESES: We hypothesized that psychological closing and information filtration will be observed in a confined crew as the mission progresses and will differ by the type of communication (e.g., audio vs. computer-generated) with the outside monitors in the simulated Mission Control (MC). In addition, communication patterns will vary with the specific group of people on-duty outside. METHOD: Audio and computer communications between space simulation crews and MC teams were analyzed during two isolation studies lasting 135 and 90 d at the Institute for Biomedical Problems in Moscow. A number of temporal, content and quantitative parameters of verbal activity were examined. RESULTS: The total intensity of communication dropped after month 1 of the missions. The Commander had the highest intensity of communication. There was evidence for the presence of psychological closing and information filtration in the crews over time, with some variation based on type of communication. Communication patterns differed with different outside teams. CONCLUSIONS: The communication between confined groups and outside monitoring personnel is affected by psychological closing and information filtration and by the make-up of the teams that comprise the monitoring groups.

Adult↗