Ethics approval and consent to participate
All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations. Ethical approval was obtained from UK National Research Ethics Service Committee West Midlands (ref 14/WM/0128). All participants consented to use of recordings for analysis. A majority also authorised the further use of video clips within face-to-face communication training.
Consent for publication
Not applicable (manuscript does not contain data from any individual person).
Availability of data and materials
The full dataset of video and audio recordings is deposited in Loughborough University’s secure archive. For most of the recordings, participants authorised use of the data in subsequent studies of healthcare communication, provided ethics committee approval is in place. For enquiries please email Professor Parry [email protected]
Video clips of the data analysed in this article can be accessed and used in training by communication skills trainers who are eligible for and registered with the RealTalk Training communication training resources platform: https://www.realtalktraining.co.uk/apply
Competing interests
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Funding
The preparatory stages of this work were supported by the University of Nottingham, including a Research Development Fund grant from the Centre for Advanced Studies. Later stages of work were funded by The Health Foundation [Grant ID RU33/GIFTS 7210], an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and social care for people in the UK.
From October 2015, RP’s work, including preparation of this manuscript, has been supported by a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Career Development Fellowship award [Grant ID CDF-2014-07-046].
This report presents independent research partially funded by the NIHR. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, NIHR or the Department of Health.
Acknowledgements
We wish to thank the people who allowed us to make and use the recordings of their hospice
consultations – patients and their companions, who were at a very difficult time in their lives, and healthcare practitioners, who generously and courageously allowed us to use footage of their practices.
We would also like to thank the VERDIS project advisory group for their collaboration and advice, and Sharan Watson, RealTalk and Advanced Communication skills Facilitator, Chair of Derbyshire Alliance for End of Life Care and currently a senior lecturer at University of Derby.
Finally, we would like to thank Ruth England, Consultant in Palliative Medicine at the University Hospital of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust, for helpful insights from the perspective of trainers who work with RealTalk.
Authors' contributions
R.P. and C.F. conceived and designed this study. R.P., B.W., M.P., and C.F. acquired the data. R.P., M.P., and C.F. analysed and interpreted findings. R.P., B.W., L.J., and E.W. drafted this article. All authors have read and approved the manuscript.
Authors' information
RP is a Professor of Human Communication and Interaction in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Loughborough University (UK). She conducts and systematically reviews conversation analyses. Her work explores fundamental human concerns such as dignity, embodiment and human agency. She also conducts work on applying conversation analytic understandings to healthcare communication training. Recent publications have included a review of conversation analytic studies on healthcare decision-making and patient involvement, guidelines on video-based research in sensitive healthcare settings, and a chapter on ways in which we allocate agency to bodies and selves.
BW served as the RealTalk Programme Development Manager, as part of the wider VERDIS research team in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Loughborough University. She is an experienced Registered Nurse with extensive clinical experience in the management and delivery of palliative and end-of-life care in a range of settings, including NHS and the voluntary sector. Becky worked as assistant professor in palliative and end-of-life care at the University of Nottingham for ten years, with responsibility for delivering a wide range of palliative and end-of-life care topics for pre- and post-registration nursing courses, is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, works as an independent educator and coach in palliative and end-of-life care, and is a communication skills trainer.
MP is a Senior Lecturer in Communication and Social Interaction in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Loughborough University (UK). MP uses conversation analysis to study interpersonal communication in health and social care. Some of his research interests include examining sensitive communicative activities in end-of-life care and bereavement support. His recent research articles have been published in Health Communication, Applied Linguistics, Research on Language and Social Interaction, and Language in Society.
LJ is a Research Fellow in the School of Social Sciences and Humanities at Loughborough University (UK). LJ examines audio and video recordings of real-life interactions in a range of everyday and medical settings using conversation analysis. Laura has designed and delivered video-based communication training materials for health professionals including in end-of-life care. Her recent articles have been published in Social Science and Medicine, Applied Linguistics, Patient Education and Counselling, and BMJ Supportive and Palliative Care.
EW is an Academic Consultant, and health sciences researcher with a PhD in Psychology as Applied to Medicine. She has experience of working and studying in the areas of neurogenerative disease, traumatic brain injury, stroke, and, more recently, end-of-life care. She has co-authored articles in numerous journals including Disability and Rehabilitation, Stroke, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.
CF has over twenty-five years’ experience as a Consultant in Palliative Medicine and holds positions as Research and Medical Lead for Education at LOROS Hospice and Honorary Professor University of Leicester. She has served on the National Association for Palliative Medicine Executive Committee, chairing the Education Committee and sitting on the specialty advisory committee of the Royal College of Physicians. CF delivers teaching to a range of health and social care professionals.