All providers Better Communication Skills (ABCs) program - protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley

High-quality person-centred communication supports patients and health care professionals, yet many HCPs struggle to engage effectively in discussions for serious illness. This study protocol evaluates the effectiveness of the online blended “All providers Better Communication Skills” (ABCs) program delivered over three months. The trial uses a Canada-wide prospective stepped-wedge randomized controlled design to measure clinician skill acquisition, behavior change, and outcomes including expert-rated standardized patient encounters, self-efficacy, competence, and perceived usability.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages10

Reading Time25 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background

Methods

Discussion

Keywords

Background

Seow et al. BMC Palliative Care (2026) 25:4 BMC Palliative Care [https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-025-01954-5](https://doi.org/10.1186/s12904-025-01954-5) STUDY PROTOCOL Open Access All providers Better Communication Skills (ABCs) program: protocol for a randomized controlled trial assessing communication training effectiveness with interprofessional clinicians Hsien Seow 1*, Anish K. Arora2, Daryl Bainbridge3, Zhimeng Jia4, Leah Steinberg4, Nadia Incardona4, Oren Levine 1, Justin J. Sanders5, Jessica Simon6, Amanda Roze des Ordons7, Karen Zhang3,8 and Jeff Myers4 Abstract Background High-quality person-centred communication for those living with serious illness benefits patients, families, and health care professionals (HCPs) . However, research suggests that HCPs often find it challenging to engage in these discussions. The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of the ‘All providers Better Communication Skills’ (ABCs), an online blended learning program delivered over three months. The ABCs program seeks to complement existing programs by adopting an interprofessional and person-centred educational philosophy, teaching core communication skills that can be utilized by any clinician across many conversations and healthcare settings, and investigating outcomes focused on clinician’s skill acquisition and behavior change. Methods We will conduct a Canada-wide prospective stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial with interprofessional HCPs. All participants will receive the intervention, however, there will be a delay in the intervention for those randomly assigned to the control group. Our study will measure change in pre and post intervention scores for all participants. The primary outcome consists of external expert rater assessments of participants’ video-recorded Standardized Patient (SP) encounters using the validated Assessment of Clinical Encounters – Communication Tool. Secondary outcomes include: participant self-assessments on self-efficacy using the validated Self-Efficacy-12 measure, as well as competence using the Patient and Family-Centered Communication subscale from the validated End-of-Life Professional Caregiver Survey; and SP ratings using the validated Questionnaire on the Quality of Physician-Patient Interaction and Feeling Heard and Understood measures. Learning experience and perceived usability of the program will also be assessed through the validated Blended Learning Usability Evaluation – Questionnaire and semi-structured interviews following program completion. *Correspondence: Hsien Seow [seowh@mcmaster.ca](seowh@mcmaster.ca) Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2025. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit [http://creativecommons.org/l](http://creativecommons.org/l)icenses/by/4.0/. Seow et al. BMC Palliative Care (2026) 25:4 Page 2 of 10 Discussion This study is a national trial evaluating the effectiveness of a communication program for interprofessional HCPs. This research will generate evidence on ways of improving conversations about serious illness. With improved communication skills, clinicians can better support patients and families in their illness

FAQs

What is the purpose of the ABCs program trial?

To assess the effectiveness of the online blended “All providers Better Communication Skills” (ABCs) program in improving communication training outcomes for interprofessional HCPs over three months.

How is the randomized controlled trial designed?

It is a Canada-wide prospective stepped-wedge randomized controlled trial where all participants receive the intervention, but control-group participants receive it with a delay.

What are the primary and key secondary outcomes?

Primary outcomes are external expert rater assessments of video-recorded standardized patient encounters using a validated communication tool. Secondary outcomes include participant self-efficacy, competence measures, and additional standardized patient ratings and usability assessments.

Sep 29, 2026

Uploaded by Stanley