PATIENT COMMUNICATION-SKILLS TRAINING FOR IMPROVED COMMUNICATION COMPETENCE IN THE PRIMARY-CARE MEDICAL CONSULTATION

Although considerable attention has been given to doctor-patient commu nication over the last 20 years, relatively little research has emphas ized the role of patients' communication skills. This research extende d the modest work in patient communication skills training by (a) empl oying a more sophisticated definition of question-asking than has been used in previous studies, and (b) expanding training to include infor mation-verifying skills. The results indicate that the training proced ure enhanced patients': information seeking in the form of direct and indirect questions, comprehension-checking utterances. fire amount and effectiveness of obtained information, and recall of information. The se results are discussed in terms of previous and future research into patient training in communication skills, and implications for practi ce.