title: Effects of communication skill training (CST) based on SPIKES for insurance-covered pharmacy pharmacists to interact with simulated cancer patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  With the development of pharmacotherapy and radiotherapy, cancer treatment is being shifted from surgical to outpatient services, consequently increasing insurance-covered pharmacies' frequency of dealing with cancer patients. As the psychology of these patients is complex, it is necessary for pharmacists to educate them in consideration of their cognitive/medical and psychosocial aspects. This study analyzed cancer patient management by pharmacists working in such pharmacies and their communication skills before and after communication skill training based on SPIKES, a six-step protocol for delivering bad news, to confirm the usefulness of such training.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study involved 20 pharmacists working in insurance-covered pharmacies within Aichi Prefecture. Before and after communication skill training, role-play sessions were held using standardized patients, whose levels of satisfaction were subsequently measured. Patient management by the pharmacists was analyzed using the Roter Interaction Analysis System as a method to analyze dialogues.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The rate of each category, representing the pharmacists' conversation styles when dealing with the patients, changed after communication skill training as follows: [Giving information]: decreased from 37.0 to 27.6%; [Empathy statements]: increased from 12.0 to 17.2%; and [Data gathering]: increased from 18.0 to 23.3%. The increase was particularly marked in: [Acceptance], accepting patients' emotions and events in line with [Empathy statements]; [Promoting dialogues] as a sub-category of [Building a relationship]; and [Checks for understanding] as a sub-category of [Data gathering]. Furthermore, the results of pharmacist assessment by the patients, including their levels of overall satisfaction, showed significant correlations with [Empathy statements] and [Building a relationship].
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Communication skill training may be effective to improve pharmacists' conversation styles to listen to patients more attentively, accept their emotions, and provide education in accordance with their needs, rather than unilaterally providing information.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  The study was approved by the Ethical Review Board of Meijo University as a research activity involving humans (approval number: H26-1).
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama, Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, 468-8503 Japan.
authors.forename: Manako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hanya
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama, Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, 468-8503 Japan.
authors.forename: Yoshitake
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kanno
authors.affiliation: Akasaki Hospital, Ibusuki, Japan.
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Akasaki
authors.affiliation: Nagoya University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan.
authors.forename: Keiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Abe
authors.affiliation: Gifu University, School of Medicine, Gifu, Japan.
authors.forename: Kazuhiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fujisaki
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Meijo University, 150 Yagotoyama, Tempaku-ku, Nagoya, 468-8503 Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kamei
keywords: Cancer patients; Communication skill training; Insurance-covered pharmacy pharmacists; Roter Interaction Analysis System; SPIKES