title: Emerging trends and future directions in patient communication skills training.
abstract: Despite several reviews of research on the effects of patient communication skills interventions, relatively few new studies on the topic have been published recently. The purpose of this article is to identify areas of needed research into patient communication skills training, with the intent of stimulating further investigation. Several topics are discussed, including longitudinal research, issues for studying underserved populations, the role of patients' preference for involvement with their health care, and the assessment of the effects of patient communication skills training on health outcomes.
authors.affiliation: School of Communication and Department of Family Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, 43210, USA. cegala.1@osu.edu
authors.forename: Donald J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Cegala
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D004502:Education, Medical, Continuing / Q000639:trends*; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D010043:Outcome and Process Assessment, Health Care; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D035502:Trust