Can teaching doctors to communicate better lower blood pressure?
In a Mashhad RCT of 240 uncontrolled hypertensive patients and 35 physicians, communication-skills training improved BP control, health literacy, adherence, and self-efficacy vs usual care.
Source
Communication skills training for physicians improves health literacy and medical outcomes among patients with hypertension: a randomized controlled trial
Study at a glance
- Design
- Other — Physician communication-skills training with patient health-literacy and medical-outcome measures
- N
- N=275 · 240 patients and 35 physicians in Mashhad, 2013–2014
- Population
- Physicians and their patients in Mashhad clinics
- Outcome
- Patient health literacy and medical outcomes after physician communication-skills training
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Can teaching doctors to communicate better lower blood pressure?
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240 patients and 35 physicians in Mashhad, 2013–2014.
A randomized, controlled trial method was conducted on 240 hypertensive patients and 35 physicians presenting to healthcare clinics in the Mashhad, Iran, from 2013 to 2014.
Physician training: 3 focus groups + 2 workshops.
Physicians in the intervention group received educational training over 3 sessions of Focus –Group Discussion and 2 workshops.
What they did
Patients were randomized by stratified blocks; intervention physicians got 3 focus-group sessions plus 2 workshops; primary endpoint was 6-month SBP/DBP reduction with secondary HL gains.
What they found
Intervention arm showed better physician–patient communication, hypertension outcomes, medication adherence, and self-efficacy than controls.
The limits
What it doesn't show
Single-city RCT with retrospectively registered protocol; results may not generalize to all health systems or longer follow-up.
Key terms
- Health literacy (HL)
- Ability to obtain, understand, and use health information.
- Communication skills training
- Structured education to improve clinician counseling.
- Medication adherence
- Taking medicines as prescribed.
- Self-efficacy
- Confidence in managing one’s hypertension.
- Uncontrolled BP
- Blood pressure not meeting treatment targets at enrollment.
- Stratified blocking
- Randomization method balancing groups within strata.
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Common questions
Sample?
240 patients and 35 physicians.
Intervention dose?
3 focus-group discussions + 2 workshops for physicians.
Primary outcome?
SBP/DBP reduction to 6 months.
What improved?
Communication, BP outcomes, adherence, self-efficacy, HL.
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