title: Validation of an organizational communication climate assessment toolkit.
abstract: Effective communication is critical to providing quality health care and can be affected by a number of modifiable organizational factors. The authors performed a prospective multisite validation study of an organizational communication climate assessment tool in 13 geographically and ethnically diverse health care organizations. Communication climate was measured across 9 discrete domains. Patient and staff surveys with matched items in each domain were developed using a national consensus process, which then underwent psychometric field testing and assessment of domain coherence. The authors found meaningful within-site and between-site performance score variability in all domains. In multivariable models, most communication domains were significant predictors of patient-reported quality of care and trust. The authors conclude that these assessment tools provide a valid empirical assessment of organizational communication climate in 9 domains. Assessment results may be useful to track organizational performance, to benchmark, and to inform tailored quality improvement interventions.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Ethics, American Medical Association, Chicago, IL 60654, USA. matthew.wynia@ama-assn.org
authors.forename: Matthew K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Wynia
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: Thomas P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: McCoy
authors.forename: Leah Passmore
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.forename: Chandra Y
authors.initials: CY
authors.lastname: Osborn
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D054521:Cultural Competency; D005260:Female; D057220:Health Literacy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D015279:Organizational Culture; D017064:Process Assessment, Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011787:Quality of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012737:Sex Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D035502:Trust