. 2022 Aug 1;90(1):247–261. doi: 10.1111/prd.12462

TABLE 3.

Education studies in healthcare (nondental)

Publication (first author, year, citation, article title)	Teaching methods or behavioral interventions	Results	Author conclusions
Gysels M (2004) ⁵⁴ UK Communication training for health professionals who care for patients with cancer: A systematic review of training methods	Teaching methods: instruction, modeling, role‐play, feedback, and discussion Interventions: interventions for training in communication skills were characterized by the variety of communication approaches used and a diversity of methods	No. of included studies: 16 studies No meta‐analysis was performed Communication training was mostly provided by a combination of cognitive and experiential elements Studies with the aim of enhancing objective communication skills achieved positive outcomes 3 studies found that the interventions failed to change clinical practice unless behavioral components were integrated Duration of training, content, teaching methods, constellation, and number of participants and timing of the training in the course of a career in clinical oncology should be considered when developing communication programs The risk of bias was not assessed	Learner‐centered programs using several methods combining a didactic component focusing on theoretical knowledge with practical rehearsal and constructive feedback from peers and skilled facilitators proved to be effective. The best results are expected when the training is carried out over a longer period of time. Small groups encouraged more intense participation. Training in communication for medical students, nursing students, and health professionals is advisable
Lindhe Söderlund L (2011) ⁵⁵ Sweden A systematic review of motivational interviewing training for general health care practitioners	Training and interventions: MI training provided for general healthcare practitioners who planned to use or were already using MI skills in counseling with patients/clients in general healthcare. Duration of the MI training varied, from a 20‐min video to a 2‐d workshop followed up by another day, that is, a total of 24 h MI was used for alcohol counseling with pregnant women, abuse‐related counseling in general healthcare, smoking counseling, medication adherence, diabetes counseling, weight, diet, and physical activity counseling	No. of included studies: 11 articles reporting results from 10 studies No meta‐analysis was performed A checklist consisting of 7 questions was constructed by authors to assess the reporting and methodological quality of the included studies. The study design of the individual studies was assessed using the MSSM In studies examining participants' reactions to training using a questionnaire or an interview, participants seemed generally satisfied with the training offered. Participants' MI competence was evaluated favorably Results suggested that MI is best learned in workshops of sufficient duration, incorporating follow‐up sessions or some form of postcourse supervision, by applying MI in routine clinical practice with clients, and by practicing MI on one’s own and with someone else (a hired coach or a colleague) who is more proficient in MI. Tape‐recorded MI sessions and use of coding instruments for learning can be beneficial More high‐quality studies are needed to inform on how to best conduct and evaluate MI training	Outcomes of MI training to improve client communication and counseling concerning lifestyle‐related issues in general healthcare are generally favorable. More high‐quality research is needed to help identify the best practices for training in MI
Batt‐Rawden SA (2013) ⁵⁶ UK, USA Teaching empathy to medical students: an updated, systematic review	Teaching methods/ interventions: interventions promoting empathy among medical students such as patient narrative and creative arts interventions, writing, drama, communication skills training, problem‐based learning, interpersonal skills training, patient interview, experiential learning, empathy intervention	No. of included studies: 18 articles (15 quantitative and 3 qualitative studies) The quality of quantitative studies included was performed using the MERSQI. The mean MERSQI score (possible range 5‐15.5) for the 15 included quantitative studies was 10.13. The lowest score was 6.5, and the highest was 14 Studies included used validated outcome measures including self‐report questionnaires (JSPE, Empathy Tendency Scale, the Empathic Skill Scale, the BEES and the ECRS), observed measures (CARE from the point of view of first‐person patient, SPIR from the point of view of third‐person assessors), as well as nonvalidated, self‐report measures developed by the study investigators 15/18 articles reported a significant increase in empathy It was found that educational interventions can successfully cultivate empathy in undergraduate medical students and that such interventions are well received by participants Studies were limited by common methodological flaws, including lack of control groups, small sample sizes, single institutions, lack of preintervention or baseline measurements, and lack of long‐term follow‐up	Educational interventions can be successful in maintaining and enhancing empathy in undergraduate medical students. More rigorous research is needed to inform recommendations for medical education

Publication (first author, year, citation, article title)

Teaching methods or behavioral interventions

Results

Author conclusions

Gysels M (2004) ⁵⁴

Communication training for health professionals who care for patients with cancer: A systematic review of training methods

Teaching methods:

instruction, modeling, role‐play, feedback, and discussion

Interventions:

interventions for training in communication skills were characterized by the variety of communication approaches used and a diversity of methods

No. of included studies: 16 studies

No meta‐analysis was performed

Communication training was mostly provided by a combination of cognitive and experiential elements

Studies with the aim of enhancing objective communication skills achieved positive outcomes

3 studies found that the interventions failed to change clinical practice unless behavioral components were integrated

Duration of training, content, teaching methods, constellation, and number of participants and timing of the training in the course of a career in clinical oncology should be considered when developing communication programs

The risk of bias was not assessed

Learner‐centered programs using several methods combining a didactic component focusing on theoretical knowledge with practical rehearsal and constructive feedback from peers and skilled facilitators proved to be effective. The best results are expected when the training is carried out over a longer period of time. Small groups encouraged more intense participation. Training in communication for medical students, nursing students, and health professionals is advisable

Lindhe Söderlund L (2011) ⁵⁵

Sweden

A systematic review of motivational interviewing training for general health care practitioners

Training and interventions:

MI training provided for general healthcare practitioners who planned to use or were already using MI skills in counseling with patients/clients in general healthcare. Duration of the MI training varied, from a 20‐min video to a 2‐d workshop followed up by another day, that is, a total of 24 h

MI was used for alcohol counseling with pregnant women, abuse‐related

counseling in general healthcare, smoking counseling, medication adherence, diabetes counseling, weight, diet, and physical activity counseling

No. of included studies:

11 articles reporting results from 10 studies

No meta‐analysis was performed

A checklist consisting of 7 questions was constructed by authors to assess the reporting and methodological quality of the included studies. The study design of the individual studies was assessed using the MSSM

In studies examining participants' reactions to training using a questionnaire or an interview, participants seemed generally satisfied with the training offered. Participants' MI competence was evaluated favorably

Results suggested that MI is best learned in workshops of sufficient duration, incorporating follow‐up sessions or some form of postcourse supervision, by applying MI in routine clinical practice with clients, and by practicing MI on one’s own and with someone else (a hired coach or a colleague) who is more proficient in MI. Tape‐recorded MI sessions and use of coding instruments for learning can be beneficial

More high‐quality studies are needed to inform on how to best conduct and evaluate MI training

Outcomes of MI training to improve client communication and counseling concerning lifestyle‐related issues in general healthcare are generally favorable. More high‐quality research is needed to help identify the best practices for training in MI

Batt‐Rawden SA (2013) ⁵⁶

UK, USA

Teaching empathy to medical students: an updated, systematic review

Teaching methods/ interventions:

interventions promoting empathy among medical students such as patient narrative and creative arts interventions, writing, drama, communication skills training, problem‐based learning, interpersonal skills training, patient interview, experiential learning, empathy intervention

No. of included studies:

18 articles (15 quantitative and 3 qualitative studies)

The quality of quantitative studies included was performed using the MERSQI. The mean MERSQI score (possible range 5‐15.5) for the 15 included quantitative studies was 10.13. The lowest score was 6.5, and the highest was 14

Studies included used validated outcome measures including self‐report questionnaires (JSPE, Empathy Tendency Scale, the Empathic Skill Scale, the BEES and the ECRS), observed measures (CARE from the point of view of first‐person patient, SPIR from the point of view of third‐person assessors), as well as nonvalidated, self‐report measures developed by the study investigators

15/18 articles reported a significant increase in empathy

It was found that educational interventions can successfully cultivate empathy in undergraduate medical students and that such interventions are well received by participants

Studies were limited by common methodological flaws, including lack of control groups, small sample sizes, single institutions, lack of preintervention or baseline measurements, and lack of long‐term follow‐up

Educational interventions can be successful in maintaining and enhancing empathy in undergraduate medical students. More rigorous research is needed to inform recommendations for medical education

Abbreviations: BEES, Balanced Emotional Empathy Scale; CARE, Consultation and Relational Empathy; ECRS, Empathy Construct Rating Sca; JSPE, Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy; MERSQI, Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument; MI, motivational interviewing; MSSM, Maryland Scale of Scientific Methods; SPIR, Staff–Patient Interaction Rating Scale.