Frankie Tai (Janssen Inc.); S. Lico (Janssen Inc.); A. Machala (Janssen Inc.); E. Desjardins (Janssen Inc.); D. Kalaria (Janssen Inc.)
Objective
BUZZ is a workshop designed to enhance communication between patients and Health Care Providers (HCPs) and results to date will be described.
Background
A study of HIV patients interviewed about their treatment, identified several barriers to communication with their health care teams. Another study called BEAHIV, demonstrated low levels of agreement between patients and HCPs surrounding bothersome symptoms of ARV treatment. With a grant from Janssen, a workshop was designed by a faculty of HIV clinicians from across Canada, in conjunction with a behavioural specialist. The workshop covered several topics: identifying barriers to communication for HIV patients, learning about one’s own preferred communication style, how to determine a patient’s communication style, and ways to uncover issues associated with the patient’s treatment, such as ARV associated side effects. To date, 15 workshops have been conducted across the country.
Results
At the end of the workshop, 85% of participants said they would start or continue to identify barriers to communication. At the start of each workshop, several before/after questions were asked. Only 45% of HCPs felt comfortable in adapting their communication towards patients with different behavioural styles prior to participating in the workshop. This increased to 84% after the workshop. Prior to the workshop, 68% of HCPs said they currently engage patients in proactive discussions surrounding ARV associated side effects, increasing to 82% post workshop. Prior to the workshop, 60% proactively engaged patients on the impact of ARV side effects on quality of life, which increased to 80% post workshop. Several weeks after each workshop, a follow up with participants was conducted and it was found that many implemented changes in their practices as a result of what they learned.
Conclusion
A workshop designed to enhance communication may have a beneficial effect on reducing communication barriers and enhancing HIV patient care.
