Clinical Yarning

Improving communication and health outcomes for
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with chronic pain.

BACKGROUND

The ability to communicate effectively with patients, their families, and other health professionals is an essential competency for clinical practice. Ineffective communication between health professionals and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living with chronic diseases and other health conditions is a significant barrier to optimal care.

Ineffective communication is an issue in pain management more widely, more so when there are cultural differences between health practitioners and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. Due to the disparity in health outcomes, greater investment and sustained efforts are required to positively advantage priority populations and overcome current inequities.

CLINICAL YARNING IN A NUTSHELL

This research project aimed to develop and deliver a “Clinical Yarning” training program to Persistent Pain Clinicians and to evaluate the impact of the training in terms of patient and family satisfaction with services; clinical and cultural safety/competence of health professionals.

Phase 1  Engagement with the community and health professionals to identify the unmet communication needs of patients and health professionals to inform the development of a culturally sensitive communication training package for clinicians. The foundation of this training will be underpinned by the Clinical Yarning Education Program (framework developed by Lin et al, 2016) and the Queensland Health Cultural Capability training.

Phase 2  To deliver and evaluate Clinical Yarning (CY) training program for health professionals across Metro North Hospital, Metro South Hospital and Health Service (HHS) and the Townsville Hospital and Health Service health professionals. 

Training Resources

PROJECT OUTCOMES

  • Developed and delivered a one-day workshop which included cultural capability and communication skills training based on a clinical yarning framework to health professionals at three pain clinics (two metropolitan and one regional in Queensland);
  • Developed training resources: PowerPoint presentation, a facilitator manual, a learners’ book and video vignettes demonstrating optimal and suboptimal communication between clinicians and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients with pain;
  • The communication training was evaluated by quantitative and qualitative methods. Clinicians trained reported improvements knowledge, ability, and confidence to communicate effectively with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. Particularly relevant to the communication between health professionals and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients was the significant increase in participants’ perceived confidence;
  • Qualitative analysis of the data collected through videos of consultations pre- and post-training identified observable differences in communication. These differences were consistent with the learning opportunities available to clinicians in the training. There was no difference the patient experience of care;
  • Publications:
    • Bernardes CM, Lin I, Birch S, Meuter R, Claus A, Bryant M, Isua J, Gray P, Kluver JP, Ekberg S et al: Study protocol: Clinical yarning, a communication training program for clinicians supporting aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients with persistent pain: A multicentre intervention feasibility study using mixed methods. Public Health in Practice 2022, 3. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.puhip.2021.100221)
    • Bernardes CM, Ekberg S, Birch S, Meuter RFI, Claus A, Bryant M, Isua J, Gray P, Kluver JP, Williamson D et al: Clinician Perspectives of Communication with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Managing Pain: Needs and Preferences. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2022, 19(3). (https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19031572)
    • Bernardes CM, Houkamau K, Lin I, Taylor M, Birch S, Claus A, Bryant M, Meuter R, Isua J, Gray P et al: Communication and access to healthcare: Experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people managing pain in Queensland, Australia. Front Pain Res (Lausanne) 2022, 3:1041968. (https://doi.org/10.3389/fpain.2022.1041968)
    • Bernardes CM, Ekberg S, Birch S, Claus A, Bryant M, Meuter R, Isua J, Gray P, Kluver JP, Malacova E et al: Yarning about pain: Evaluating communication training for health professionals at persistent pain services in Queensland, Australia. British Journal of Pain 2023:1-14. (https://doi.org/10.1177/20494637221149831)

Clinical Yarning Training Session at the Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre – Metro North Hospital and Health Service

PARTNERSHIPS

A Project Steering Committee (PSC) comprised of leading investigators, academics, policy makers, clinicians and researchers who are well regarded for their work in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health sector meet regularly guiding and advising on the conduct of this research project.

  • Mr Gregory Pratt, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
  • Mr Jermaine Isua, Queensland Health Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Capability Program
  • Dr Ivan Lin, University of Western Australia
  • Dr Matthew Bryant, Townsville HHS
  • Mr Daniel Williamson, Queensland Department of Health
  • Prof Stephen Birch, The University of Queensland
  • Prof Paul Gray, Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre, MNHHS and The University of Queensland
  • Dr Renata Meuter, Queensland University of Technology
  • Dr Stuart Ekberg, Queensland University of Technology
  • Dr Andrew Claus, Tess Cramond Pain and Research Centre, MNHHS
  • Dr Joseph Philip Kluver, Pain Rehabilitation Centre, MSHHS
  • Dr Christina Bernardes, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

PROJECT TEAM

Mr Gregory Pratt, Manager of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research

Dr Christina Bernardes, Project Manager 

Miss Kushla Houkamau, Indigenous Community Based Recruitment Officer 

Mr Corey Jones, Research Assistant 

CONTACT

If you have any queries or need more information on the project, please contact the Project Manager, Dr Christina Bernardes on the details below:

Dr Christina Bernardes

Christina.Bernardes@qimrberghofer.edu.au

(07) 3845 3012