84398 - Communication with Patients

Learning outcomes

Demonstrate skills adequate to obtain and give clear and relevant information by adapting verbal communication to the cognitive and emotional status of patients/ caregivers. Recognize the variations in the emotions, mood and stress perceived by patients in different clinical settings. Apply empathy-oriented strategies of interaction to improve compliance to medical care. Develop strategies of decision making to obtain informed consent from patients/caregivers for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

Course contents

1. Importance of Communication in Healthcare and the Medical-Patient Relationship

2. Scientific Evidence Supporting the Role of Communication: Placebo and Nocebo Phenomena

a. History and concepts

b. Assessment of placebo/nocebo effects

c. Placebo/nocebo mechanisms

d. Application of placebos

e. Optimizing placebo effects

f. Minimizing nocebo effects

g. Open- vs. deceptive placebos

h. Ethics and critical evaluation

3. Clinical Practice Guidelines and Recommendations for Best Practice

Readings/Bibliography

https://eduonplacebo.unibo.it/

Teaching methods

Frontal Lecture

Role Playing

Debate

Group exercises aimed at deepening and facilitating learnings on the role of expectations on clinical outcomes

Rewriting treatment information sheets

Assessment methods

The assessment will consist of a learning test, which will include true/false questions, as well as a discussion of the group activities carried out in class.
Students are expected to demonstrate their understanding of the key concepts through the test and actively participate in the discussion of their group work during the examination.

 

Students with learning disorders and\or temporary or permanent disabilities: please, contact the office responsible (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/en/for-students ) as soon as possible so that they can propose acceptable adjustments. The request for adaptation must be submitted in advance (15 days before the exam date) to the lecturer, who will assess the appropriateness of the adjustments, taking into account the teaching objectives

Teaching tools

https://eduonplacebo.unibo.it/

Office hours

See the website of Katia Mattarozzi