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Twelve Years of the Italian Program to Enhance Relational and Communication Skills (PERCS)

Author

Listed:
  • Lidia Borghi

    (Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, 20142 Milan, Italy)

  • Elaine C. Meyer

    (Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA
    Center for Bioethics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA)

  • Elena Vegni

    (Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, 20142 Milan, Italy
    ASST Santi Paolo and Carlo Hospitals, 20142 Milan, Italy)

  • Roberta Oteri

    (ASST Santi Paolo and Carlo Hospitals, 20142 Milan, Italy)

  • Paolo Almagioni

    (Humanitas Research Hospital, 20089 Milan, Italy)

  • Giulia Lamiani

    (Department of Health Sciences, University of Milan, 20142 Milan, Italy)

Abstract

To describe the experience of the Italian Program to Enhance Relations and Communication Skills (PERCS-Italy) for difficult healthcare conversations. PERCS-Italy has been offered in two different hospitals in Milan since 2008. Each workshop lasts 5 h, enrolls 10–15 interdisciplinary participants, and is organized around simulations and debriefing of two difficult conversations. Before and after the workshops, participants rate their preparation, communication, relational skills, confidence, and anxiety on 5-point Likert scales. Usefulness, quality, and recommendation of the program are also assessed. Descriptive statistics, t -tests, repeated-measures ANOVA, and Chi-square were performed. A total of 72 workshops have been offered, involving 830 interdisciplinary participants. Participants reported improvements in all the dimensions ( p < 0.001) without differences across the two hospitals. Nurses and other professionals reported a greater improvement in preparation, communication skills, and confidence, compared to physicians and psychosocial professionals. Usefulness, quality, and recommendation of PERCS programs were highly rated, without differences by discipline. PERCS-Italy proved to be adaptable to different hospital settings, public and private. After the workshops, clinicians reported improvements in self-reported competencies when facing difficult conversations. PERCS-Italy’s sustainability is based on the flexible format combined with a solid learner-centered approach. Future directions include implementation of booster sessions to maintain learning and the assessment of behavioral changes.

Suggested Citation

  • Lidia Borghi & Elaine C. Meyer & Elena Vegni & Roberta Oteri & Paolo Almagioni & Giulia Lamiani, 2021. "Twelve Years of the Italian Program to Enhance Relational and Communication Skills (PERCS)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-14, January.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:2:p:439-:d:476649
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    Cited by:

    1. Isolde Martina Busch & Michela Rimondini, 2021. "Empowering Patients and Supporting Health Care Providers—New Avenues for High Quality Care and Safety," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-5, September.
    2. Silvia Gonella & Paola Di Giulio & Alexandra Antal & Nicola Cornally & Peter Martin & Sara Campagna & Valerio Dimonte, 2022. "Challenges Experienced by Italian Nursing Home Staff in End-of-Life Conversations with Family Caregivers during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Descriptive Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-18, February.
    3. Silvia Gonella & Paola Di Giulio & Paola Berchialla & Mario Bo & Paolo Cotogni & Giorgia Macchi & Sara Campagna & Valerio Dimonte, 2022. "The Impact of Health and Social Care Professionals’ Education on the Quality of Serious Illness Conversations in Nursing Homes: Study Protocol of a Quality Improvement Project," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-20, December.

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