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Healthcare
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Clinical Communication in Rehabilitation
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Clinical Communication in Rehabilitation

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2025 | Viewed by 9868

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Irene P. Carvalho

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Medicine, University of Porto, 4200-319 Porto, Portugal
Interests: clinical communication; empathy; emotions; experiences; health metaphors; deviant behaviors
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Artemisa R Dores

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Health, Polytechnic Institute of Porto, 4200‑072 Porto, Portugal
Interests: (neuro)cognitive rehabilitation; clinical communication; behavioral addictions; gambling disorder; gaming disorder
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rehabilitation can be a challenging process for both patients and healthcare professionals. Beyond the clinical setting, participants’ daily lives, including family members and daily occupations, can contribute to the quality of the rehabilitation process. The way in which healthcare professionals communicate and relate with the patient can play a central role in this process, including in the quality of patient participation and associated outcomes. Extensive research on clinical communication has been conducted in the fields of medicine and nursing, but much more research is also needed in other health areas. This Special Issue is focused on clinical communication in the field of rehabilitation. Topics include empathy, informing and planning, non-verbal aspects and features of the physical context, difficult situations and emotions, relation-, patient- and professional-centered approaches, or inter-professional interactions, in allied health areas such as physio-therapy, speech therapy, and those involving complementary exams such as radiology or cardio-pulmonology, cognitive rehabilitation, etc., in addition to medicine and nursing.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Prof. Dr. Irene P. Carvalho
Prof. Dr. Artemisa R Dores
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • patient–provider communication
  • empathy
  • emotions
  • difficult communications
  • interprofessional communication
  • neucognitive rehabilitation
  • bad news
  • health professionals

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Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 916 KiB  
Article
Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Person-Centered Therapeutic Relationship in Physiotherapy Scale to European Portuguese
by João Moreira, Lúcia Domingues, Margarida Silva and Carmen Caeiro
Healthcare 2024, 12(23), 2455; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12232455 - 5 Dec 2024
Viewed by 983
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Implementing a person-centered practice is considered a priority in healthcare, and the development of a solid and positive therapeutic relationship is a fundamental element. This study conducted a cross-cultural adaptation of the Person-Centered Therapeutic Relationship in Physiotherapy Scale to European Portuguese and [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Implementing a person-centered practice is considered a priority in healthcare, and the development of a solid and positive therapeutic relationship is a fundamental element. This study conducted a cross-cultural adaptation of the Person-Centered Therapeutic Relationship in Physiotherapy Scale to European Portuguese and contributed to its validation through the study of its structural validity and internal consistency. Methods: This study was conducted from October 2021 to July 2023 and included two phases: a methodological study of cross-cultural adaptation (phase 1) and a transversal study to assess the psychometric properties (phase 2). Structural validity was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and internal consistency was estimated using Cronbach’s alpha (α). A p-value < 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. Results: The Person-Centered Therapeutic Relationship in Physiotherapy Scale was successfully culturally adapted to European Portuguese (phase 1). During phase 2, 203 individuals [mean age: 50.16 ± 13.10 years (range 18–80 years)] with musculoskeletal conditions, mostly female (63.1%), were recruited. The factorial solution explained 74.7% of the total variability and retained three factors, grouping items 9 to 15 in a common factor (professional empowerment and therapeutic communication). Adequate internal consistency was found (Cronbach’s α = 0.889). Conclusions: This study culturally adapted an instrument to European Portuguese, which allows the assessment of the person-centered therapeutic relationship in physiotherapy, presenting adequate internal consistency. Future studies should contribute to the remaining validation of the instrument so that it can be available to the Portuguese population. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Communication in Rehabilitation)
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17 pages, 529 KiB  
Article
Using Immersive Environments in E-Mental Health Rehabilitation Programs Directed to Future Health Professionals to Promote Empathy and Health Literacy about Schizophrenia
by Paulo Veloso Gomes, António Marques, Javier Pereira, Rui Pimenta, João Donga and Raquel Simões de Almeida
Healthcare 2024, 12(15), 1550; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12151550 - 5 Aug 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2061
Abstract
Rehabilitation involves all types of patients, including people with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is considered a complex syndrome characterized in general by fundamental and characteristic distortions of thinking and perception. The quality of life of a person with schizophrenia can be compromised by difficulty in [...] Read more.
Rehabilitation involves all types of patients, including people with schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is considered a complex syndrome characterized in general by fundamental and characteristic distortions of thinking and perception. The quality of life of a person with schizophrenia can be compromised by difficulty in carrying out their daily tasks and by the social stigma of their condition. The importance of training and sensitizing students in rehabilitation areas to this type of problem to improve the rehabilitation processes in which they will participate as future professionals involves empathy and the ability to communicate with these populations. It is possible through virtual reality to create immersive environments to simulate some psychotic symptoms characteristic of people with schizophrenia, such as visual hallucinations and hearing voices. The aim of this study was to test the effect of exposure to experiences characteristic of schizophrenia through two different types of immersive environments, graphical computational virtual reality and 360° video, on students from areas of social rehabilitation regarding empathy, social distance, and attitudes towards people with schizophrenia. Although the results were positive for the three parameters under study, no significant differences were found for each of them between the environments to which the participants were exposed. This study concluded that the choice between the two types of immersive environments should be based on the project’s objectives, the target audience’s needs, and available resources, rather than the type of environment itself, as their impact was similar. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Communication in Rehabilitation)
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15 pages, 1417 KiB  
Article
Communicating Risks and Food Procedures through a Visual Poster for Caregivers of Patients with Dysphagia in Inpatient Care: Usability and Impact
by Rafaela Nogueira Neves, Maria Assunção Matos and Irene P. Carvalho
Healthcare 2024, 12(2), 148; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12020148 - 9 Jan 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 3000
Abstract
Food-related procedures are a part of rehabilitation interventions for dysphagia. However, studies show that professional-caregiver communication is often lacking in dysphagia, risking caregivers’ knowledge, understanding, and practice of those procedures, with negative consequences for patient safety and rehabilitation. The aim of this study [...] Read more.
Food-related procedures are a part of rehabilitation interventions for dysphagia. However, studies show that professional-caregiver communication is often lacking in dysphagia, risking caregivers’ knowledge, understanding, and practice of those procedures, with negative consequences for patient safety and rehabilitation. The aim of this study was to evaluate caregivers’ perspectives about the utility of a poster designed to communicate dysphagia-related risks and food procedures for caregivers of patients in inpatient care. The impact of caregivers’ exposure to the poster on patients’ dysphagia-related health was additionally explored. The poster was placed by the beds of a randomly assigned group of patients (n = 21). Their caregivers responded to a questionnaire about the poster’s utility. In addition, to explore whether the caregiver exposure to the poster could already have some effect on patient dysphagia-related health, patient risk of aspiration, food swallowing capacity, nutritional status, and oral cavity health were assessed before and one month after placement of the poster, and the poster-exposed group was compared with a (randomly-assigned) non-exposed group (n = 21). Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and generalized linear models based on analyses of covariance. All caregivers across various education levels reported noticing, reading, and understanding the poster (100%). Nearly all reported that the poster added new information to their knowledge (17 out of 21). In the additional analysis, the patients in the poster-exposed group showed greater improvements in the health outcomes, compared with the non-exposed group, although the effects were statistically non-significant within this study’s one-month period. A poster with pictorial information was effective in increasing awareness about dysphagia-specific information among caregivers of patients in inpatient care and can be used as an augmentative means of information, with potential benefits for patient safety and rehabilitation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Communication in Rehabilitation)
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16 pages, 694 KiB  
Article
Attitudes toward Patient-Centred Care, Empathy, and Assertiveness among Students in Rehabilitation Areas: A Longitudinal Study
by Ana Monteiro Grilo, Graça Vinagre, Margarida Custódio dos Santos, Joana Ferreira Martinho and Ana Isabel Gomes
Healthcare 2023, 11(20), 2803; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11202803 - 23 Oct 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2800
Abstract
This study assessed attitudes toward patient-centred care, empathy, assertiveness, and subjective perception of communication skills and technical knowledge among Portuguese undergraduate students in healthcare. These students may develop rehabilitation activities with patients in their person-oriented or technique-oriented professions. Portuguese nursing and allied health [...] Read more.
This study assessed attitudes toward patient-centred care, empathy, assertiveness, and subjective perception of communication skills and technical knowledge among Portuguese undergraduate students in healthcare. These students may develop rehabilitation activities with patients in their person-oriented or technique-oriented professions. Portuguese nursing and allied health students from two public higher education schools completed questionnaires in the first and third academic years: Patient-Practitioner Orientation Scale, Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy, Scale for Interpersonal Behaviour, and a subjective perception of technical knowledge and communication skills. A total of 183 students completed the surveys. In the first year, students showed moderate to high scores on patient-centredness attitudes, empathy, and assertiveness and perceived themselves as having good communication skills. Students from person-oriented programmes significantly improved their Total and shared patient-centred attitudes in the third year compared with students attending technique-oriented professions. Significant differences in empathy were found between groups in the third year. Distress associated with assertive behaviours increased significantly across time in students from technique-oriented programmes compared with their peers in person-oriented programmes. The results suggest that the health profession’s orientation and the programmes’ specific curriculum might have a role in how some dimensions evolved in the two groups of students. The increasing assertiveness-related discomfort highlighted the importance of assessing and monitoring students’ emotional wellbeing during their initial interactions with patients. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Communication in Rehabilitation)
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