Development of the Health Communication Assessment Tool: Enhancing Relationships, Empowerment, and Power-Sharing Skills

BackgroundHealth professional education includes interpersonal communication and skill development, however, the assessment of student learning and skill acquisition is inconsistent. This pilot project developed an instrument examining student nurses’ health communication.MethodResponses on a 24 item check-list during simulations by third /fourth year pre-licensure nursing students in a baccalaureate program in Northeastern North America were randomly chosen and examined.ResultsFair inter-rater reliability was established. The principle components analysis resulted in six factors. Constructs of relationship building (rapport, empathy, avoiding miscommunication), education/empowerment, and power-sharing loaded most significantly.ConclusionThe HCAT demonstrated internal consistency and was useful in evaluating communication behaviors. Health communication assessment did not detract from the analysis of students’ clinical skills performance in simulation scenarios.