Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

<p><strong>Background:</strong> Patients desire both honesty and hope from their healthcare practitioners. A recent systematic review found that healthcare practitioners who deliver positive messages improve patient outcomes, most notably by reducing pain. However, the verbal and non-verbal components of positive messages within these trials varied greatly, which presents a barrier to the implementation of this evidence and person-centered care.</p> <p><strong>Objective:</strong> To investigate common components of positive messages within the reviewed trials.</p> <p><strong>Methods:</strong> We extracted the verbal and non-verbal language used to deliver positive messages in 22 trials from a recent systematic review. Three independent researchers coded the components of the messages using content analysis.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> Positive messages in our sample had between 2 and 18 different components. These were clustered into 5 areas: specifying the positive outcomes, making the message personal, drawing on associations and meanings, providing a supportive psychological context and providing a rationale. Messages were reinforced through repetition in half the studies. Within the clusters, the most common components of positive messages were suggestions of specific effects (18 studies) and personalised formulations (15 studies). Most studies did not describe the components of positive messages adequately.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions:</strong> Positive messages within randomized trials are complex interventions, with most including strong suggestions about specific effects, presented confidently and made personally relevant to the individual patient. Future trials of positive messages should report all components of these interventions.</p>

Original publication

DOI

10.5750/ejpch.v7i4.1788

Type

Journal article

Journal

European Journal for Person Centered Healthcare

Publisher

University of Buckingham Press

Publication Date

30/07/2020

Volume

7

Pages

656 - 664

Keywords

randomised controlled trials, pain, empathy, positive communication, communication, pain reduction, FFR, complex interventions, ethics, mechanisms of action, communication skills, person-centered healthcare