The goal of this study to test the feasibility, acceptability, and potential impact of a serious illness communication skills training (CST) tailored to rehabilitation professionals to improve their comfort and confidence in navigating difficult conversations with patients and families.
Primary Objectives:
Aim 1: To assess feasibility and acceptability of a multidisciplinary co-designed interactive CST program for rehabilitation professionals who care for children with serious illness and their families.
Aim 2: To characterize the potential impact of this CST intervention on pediatric rehabilitation professionals.
Secondary Objective:
Aim 3: To examine the perspectives of bereaved parent educators on participation in the implementation of communication training for rehabilitation professionals.
Licensed rehabilitation professionals (e.g., physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists) employed at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital actively involved in the care of pediatric oncology patients.
Willingness to participate in the communication skills training (CST) intervention and associated study activities.
St. Jude Bereaved Parent Educators who have participated as an educator in at least one other institutional educational event
Willingness to facilitate the communication skills training (CST) intervention and complete associated study activities.
Non-rehabilitation professionals
Individuals unable to attend the CST intervention session.
Individuals unable to attend the CST intervention session.
Parallel
Communication skills training
Other interventionSee Detailed Description
Communication skills training-Facilitator
Other interventionSee Detailed Description
Proportion of participants who achieve a mean score ≥3 on the Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM) scale
Investigators will compute the mean Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM) score for each participant using the Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM) and report the proportion of participants who achieve a mean score ≥3. The Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM) is used to assess how feasible it is to implement a specific intervention. The FIM measure includes four itemized responses that are scored from one to five (1=Completely disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree, 4=Agree, 5=Completely agree) such that one represents the lowest possible mean score and five the highest possible mean score. It is scored by averaging the responses to each of the four questions. Higher scores indicate greater perceived feasibility of the intervention.
Proportion of participants who achieve a mean score ≥3 on Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM) scale
Investigators will compute the mean Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM) score for each participant and report the proportion of participants who achieve a mean score ≥3. The Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM) is a four-item scale used to assess the acceptability of an intervention. It is scored by calculating the mean of the responses to its four items, each measured on a 5-point Likert scale(1=Completely disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree, 4=Agree, 5=Completely agree). This results in a final score ranging from 1 to 5, with higher scores indicating greater acceptability.
Proportion of participants who achieve a mean score ≥3 on the Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM) scale
Investigators will compute the mean Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM) score for each participant and report the proportion of participants who achieve a mean score ≥3. The Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM) is a four-item scale used to assess the appropriateness of interventions by capturing individual perspectives on the alignment of the intervention with professional values and perceived efficacy in meeting patient needs. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1=Completely disagree, 2=Disagree, 3=Neither agree nor disagree, 4=Agree, 5=Completely agree). The score is calculated by averaging the responses to all items. A higher score on the IAM indicates a stronger perception that the intervention is appropriate for the given situation and context.
Potential impact of this CST intervention on pediatric rehabilitation professionals
Investigators will calculate the proportions of participants who select "Agree" or "Completely agree" in both the pre- and post-intervention surveys and conduct statistical tests, such as Fisher's exact test or the Chi-square test, to determine whether the change in these proportions over time is statistically significant.
Perspectives of bereaved parent educators on participation in the implementation of communication training for rehabilitation professionals.
Interviews will be conducted with bereaved parent educators following the intervention. Interviews will be recorded, transcribed, de-identified, and analyzed using content analysis, an inductive approach which may include memo-writing, codebook development, coding, reconciliation, and synthesis to identify patterns and themes that emerge from the interviews.
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