Table 2. Training (group-by-time) effects on residents' turn of speech and utterances (number, types and contents) and simulated patients' utterances (number and contents).

	Training group (n=50)				Waiting-list group (n=48)				Generalised estimating equation
	T1		T2		T1		T2		Training effects
	Mean	s.d.	Mean	s.d.	Mean	s.d.	Mean	s.d.	RR	95% CI	P-value
Number of turn of speech
Residents	64	18	70	23	67	20	68	26	1.08	0.94–1.23	0.287
Simulated patients	64	18	70	22	66	20	67	26	1.09	0.95–1.26	0.206
Residents' utterances
Types
Assessment
Open questionsa	0.2	0.4	0.8	1.1	0.6	1.7	0.5	0.8	5.79	2.24–14.91	<0.001
Open directive questions	3.1	2.0	4.5	3.1	2.8	1.9	2.3	2.1	1.71	1.20–2.45	0.003
Directive questions	6.3	5.2	4.7	2.8	5.5	7.5	4.7	4.1	0.87	0.57–1.34	0.522
Leading questionsa	0.3	0.7	0.5	0.9	0.2	0.5	0.2	0.4	1.98	0.56–7.02	0.290
Checking questionsa	2.8	2.6	3.3	4.4	2.1	1.8	2.3	1.8	1.12	0.68–1.87	0.655
Other types of questions	16.5	8.0	21.2	10.3	15.2	7.5	16.3	11.4	1.20	0.90–1.61	0.206
Total	29.1	13.2	35.0	17.7	26.4	12.1	26.2	14.1	1.21	0.97–1.50	0.090
Support
Acknowledgement	23.2	14.4	26.6	15.2	23.9	17.2	22.2	14.0	1.24	0.98–1.58	0.077
Empathya	0.2	0.4	0.5	0.9	0.3	0.6	0.2	0.5	4.50	1.31–15.50	0.017
Reassurancea	0.7	0.8	0.4	1.0	0.5	0.9	0.7	1.1	0.48	0.18–1.26	0.136
Total	24.0	14.4	27.6	15.2	24.7	17.4	23.0	14.3	1.23	0.98–1.55	0.073
Information
Procedural information	7.9	4.0	6.8	2.9	8.5	5.7	8.1	6.7	0.90	0.70–1.15	0.398
Negotiationa	1.6	1.8	1.3	1.7	1.6	2.3	1.4	1.9	0.94	0.55–1.62	0.833
Other types of information	53.9	21.5	37.3	22.9	54.7	25.8	55.6	25.5	0.68	0.55–0.85	0.001
Total	63.4	22.5	45.4	24.2	64.8	29.0	64.9	28.5	0.72	0.59–0.87	0.001
Contents
Medical words	76.1	24.2	53.8	20.1	78.0	29.1	74.2	23.4	0.74	0.64–0.87	<0.001
Emotional words	10.8	5.7	9.5	6.9	9.2	5.9	10.7	7.8	0.75	0.59–0.96	0.024
Social words	15.2	7.6	9.4	6.3	16.0	7.9	17.7	9.3	0.56	0.45–0.69	<0.001
Simulated patients' utterances
Contents
Medical words	24.2	7.1	35.8	10.7	25.9	9.5	25.4	8.0	1.51	1.32–1.73	<0.001
Emotional words	12.0	4.3	12.4	5.0	11.4	4.4	9.9	4.3	1.19	1.01–1.42	0.049
Social words	18.4	5.7	17.6	6.1	17.5	5.4	17.5	5.7	0.96	0.84–1.10	0.578

Abbreviations: CI=confidence interval; RR=relative rate; T1=at baseline; T2=after training for the training group and after 8 months for the waiting-list group.

Estimated relative rates based on a generalised estimating equation Poisson regression model (n=98).

^aNegative binomial distribution.