Developing a training program based on intervention mapping to improve healthcare professionals' communication skills: A study protocol

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Poor communication by healthcare professionals contributes to physical and psychological suffering in patients. Intervention mapping (IM) is a framework that integrates theoretical and empirical evidence to ensure that the intervention can be implemented in real-world settings. From this perspective, the aim of this study is to describe a specific study protocol for developing a training program to improve healthcare professionals' communication skills based on the IM. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this protocol study, the IM framework is applied as the theoretical backbone of designing a training program for improving healthcare providers' communication skills. IM included a six-step process to develop our intervention program. Completing the six steps provides a plan for designing, implementing, and evaluating training the program. Basically, phases 1-4 focus on developing multistep interventions to improve health behaviors and environmental conditions, phase 5 focuses on developing an implementation strategy to better utilize the program, and phase 6 is used to plan the evaluation of the program itself and its implementation. CONCLUSIONS: IM seems to be a useful framework for developing training program because professionals' communication skills are being affected by multiple internal and extra-organizational factors that will be explained in more details by applying IM steps. In this article, we describe IM as a relevant approach for designing improved communication skill interventions.