The Nature and Perceived Influence of Lifestyle Discussions with Older Adults in Primary Care Rationale: A healthy diet and physical activity help with disease prevention and disease management and can promote quality of life regardless of the age at which an individual begins engaging in these behaviors. Despite the value of these health behaviors, many older adults do not follow lifestyle recommendations. Given that older adults frequently interact with the healthcare system, primary care providers are well situated to counsel older adults to improve their health behaviors. Unfortunately, we do not know how to most effectively engage in this counseling. The purpose of this dissertation is to better understand whether and how providers discuss diet and physical activity with their older patients and how patients perceive their providers’ communication regarding diet and physical activity. Method: One hundred and four older adults, ranging in age from 65 to 95, consented to have their routine primary care visits recorded and immediately following their visits engaged in semi-structured interviews regarding current health behaviors and perceptions of their providers’ diet and physical activity recommendations. Clinical visits were selectively transcribed and analyzed using qualitative description. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded, and analyzed through a process of constant comparison. Findings: Discussions of diet and physical activity occurred in over two thirds of visits; recommendations for diet and physical activity occurred in less than half of these discussions. The majority of patients correctly recalled whether or not discussions of diet or physical activity had taken place. Patients reported that the likelihood of engaging in healthy diet and physical activity related to personal motivation and perceived confidence in the ability to make effective changes, both of which could be influenced by providers’ recommendations. When providers did not discuss diet or physical activity, or mentioned these topics only briefly, patients often perceived the message that they should continue with their current behaviors. Implications: These findings support an integrated theoretical framework, highlighting the role of autonomy and confidence, for understanding how providers can promote patients’ health behaviors. Implications for providers’ training and the healthcare system are discussed.

This thesis explores the tension between free speech and its potential to cause harm. I specifically illustrate how it works in anti-vaccination dialogues on social media websites. This thesis questions whether there is an appropriate limit to free speech in order to protect public health.

Hypotheses on the efficiency of evidence-based printed materials can be directed by health communication concepts. These concepts can provide a general framework that goes beyond the traditional vulgarization point of view: instead, it points towards a strategy to obtain health outcomes and provoke behavior change, from a disease prevention, management and health promotion perspective. The present study proposes a comprehensive framework based on concepts from health risk communication, Tarde's theory of social values, usability, readability and plain language. Using the mapping approach, an evaluation grid was applied to printed evidence-based materials with proven effectiveness, in order to reveal the underlying strategy and isolate the characteristics of effective materials. The results allowed us to define two types of printed evidence-based materials, according to the robustness of the evidence they contain and the target audience. It was also possible to identify indicators of notions that are translated into operationalized items, frequent in those materials that might be responsible for their efficiency: clear purpose of the documents, limited scope, learning motivation and correspondence to the logic, experience and language of readers. Effectiveness of printed evidence-based materials could also be correlated to numeracy, objectiveness, standard definitions, constant timeframes and denominators, risks enumerated in order of importance, effective response, and high degree of threat, urgency, novelty and visibility of the disease. It was also possible to identify some missing communication concepts: cultural diversity, narrative, increased easiness of procedures and aesthetic advantage for the patient. In the process of work, the theory of social values emerged as a dynamic component that can bring together and explain many concepts, as well as physician’s acceptance of the guidelines. Value in terms of usefulness and truth plays a major role in cognitive appreciation of the documents. This concept gives a strategic meaning to the whole work and allows us to better understand attitude and behavior change.

Increasing lifestyle-related ill health, escalating health care costs, expanding health inequalities within and between nations, and an aging population are challenges facing governments globally. Governments, especially in industrialized countries like Sweden, are investing in health promotion and health communication, especially in ICT-supported health communication as a way to increase health literacy and empowerment at individual and population levels. Studies show that many eHealth communication efforts are narrow in scope, medical oriented and therefore not enough to address the complexity of lifestyle-related ill health and equity issues. This thesis proposes integrating health promotion values and principles in the design process of eHealth systems for health promotion in order to develop usable, sustainable, engaging, eHealth resources that are adaptable to their context of use and user’s skills. The overall aim of this thesis was study the participatory development process of an interactive ICT-supported health communication channel for health promotion and enhancing health literacy in PHC context. Participatory Action Research (PAR) with a multi-phase and multi-method approach was used in this thesis. A model entitled Spiral Technology Action Research’ (STAR) was used to guide the development of the health channel. This design process was framed in three developmental and evaluation phases corresponding to formative, process and outcome evaluation. A total of 146 participants consisting of professionals from primary health care services, information technology and academia, and local citizens participated in the project’s different phases. A triangulation of methods was used to collect the data; survey, document analysis, participatory observations with field notes, individual interviews, focus groups, think aloud protocols and log statistics. Qualitative and quantitative content analyses were used to analyse data. The results revealed that integrating health promotion values and principles in the design process proved to be valuable not only to the content of the channel, but also in PHC practice. The different design phases yielded valuable results that built into each other and contributed to an eHealth channel that was perceived as relevant to the local people’s need for health communication; accessible and user friendly. The results also indicated that an Internet based interactive health channel, could be a valuable resource for enhancing health literacy if users are involved in the design.

Introdução: O climatério marca a passagem do período reprodutivo das mulheres para o período não reprodutivo, e é influenciado pelos aspectos biológicos e psicossociais prevalentes nos diferentes contextos culturais. A literatura científica aponta a escassez de informações e orientações para as mulheres sobre o tema pelos serviços de saúde, embora esteja evidenciado que a experiência do climatério pode trazer sofrimento físico e emocional às mulheres, em decorrência das intensas mudanças que elas vivenciam neste período. Objetivos: Explorar as experiências vividas pelas mulheres no período do climatério; identificar as dúvidas e necessidades das mulheres relacionadas à experiência do climatério; identificar as dificuldades e potencialidades que as mulheres possuem para o enfrentamento dos problemas relacionados à experiência do climatério; e produzir um material educativo destinado à promoção da saúde das mulheres que vivenciam a experiência do climatério. Metodologia: O método de pesquisa foi a pesquisa-ação (PA), embasada pelo referencial pedagógico de Paulo Freire. A população do estudo foi constituída por mulheres usuárias de um serviço de atenção básica do Município de São Paulo. Participaram da PA nove mulheres entre 45 e 65 anos de idade. Foram realizados grupos focais e oficinais educativas durante os nove encontros da PA, cujo processo foi constituído das etapas de diagnóstico situacional da realidade, planejamento e execução das ações executivas e avaliação. Todos estes encontros foram gravados em áudio e transcritos integralmente, e este conjunto de dados foi submetido à análise temática. Resultados: As assertivas O espelho fala a verdade: as mudanças corporais interferindo na autoestima das mulheres no climatério; A vida gira como um carrossel: altos e baixos nas condições emocionais e no convívio com os membros da família; O tempo agora é outro: mudanças na sexualidade e relacionamento amoroso/conjugal no climatério; e É tempo de se cuidar mais: em busca do autocuidado no climatério sintetizam as experiências das mulheres que vivenciam o climatério. Discussão: O climatério desencadeia alterações no corpo e na mente das mulheres, que repercutem nos relacionamentos familiar, conjugal e social, na vivência da sexualidade e nas percepções a respeito da saúde. Durante o processo de PA, as mulheres fizeram reflexões que ajudaram a identificar a necessidade de ajustes na forma de lidar com as novas situações e de confrontá-las, reorganizando a sua vida cotidiana. Conclusões: Por meio da PA foi possível promover a aprendizagem emancipatória, a aquisição de uma perspectiva ampliada do climatério, a ampliação da rede de apoio social a partir dos vínculos construídos, o despertar da consciência sobre o cuidar de si, o autoconhecimento, e o resgate da autoestima. O material educativo, produto do processo de PA, foi elaborado a partir do diagnóstico sobre os problemas, potencialidades, necessidades e demandas relativas à experiência do climatério. Ele foi validado por um perito no assunto e pelas mulheres participantes da PA. / Introduction: The Climacteric period marks the transition between the reproductive and non-reproductive phase of women, and it is influenced by biological and psychosocial aspects in a range of different cultural contexts. The literature reveals a lack of information and healthcare guidance supported by health services, although the experience of physical and emotional suffering has been well documented in the climacteric, as a result of stressful womens life changes. Objectives: The aims of this study were to explore womens experiences regarding the climacteric period; to identify womens questions and needs concerning the climacteric; to raise womens difficulties and approaches to manage the problems regarding the climacteric; and to elaborate an educational material dedicated to womens health promotion, focused on the climacteric period. Method: Action-research (AR) was the method used, enhanced through the pedagogical reference of Paulo Freire. The study population comprised a group of nine women between 45 and 65 years old users of a primary healthcare facility of São Paulo city. Focal groups and educational workshops were both organized and applied to the nine ARs group meetings, which were developed through the phases of realitys situational diagnostic, action planning and execution, and evaluation. All these meetings were recorded, the information was integrally transcribed verbatim, and the data were submitted to thematic analysis. Results: Four major thematic findings highlight the experience lived by women during the climacteric: The mirror tells the truth: bodily changes perception affecting the womens self-esteem in the climacteric; Life twists and turns like a carousel: ups and downs regarding emotional conditions and family relationship; Now, the time is changed: changes regarding sexuality and affective/marital relationship in the climacteric; and Its time to pay close attention to self-care: searching for self-care in the climacteric. Discussion: The climacteric period brings changes regarding body and mind, which affect familiar, marital, and social relationships, as well as womens experience of sexuality and perception of health and self-care. In the action-research process, women could reflect on these issues, which helped them to identify the need of adjustments concerning the copying of new situations, and the ways of re-organizing their daily life. Conclusions: The AR promoted the development of an emancipatory learning process, the achieving of an enlarged perspective about the climacteric, the increase of a social network by means of the groups bond, the awareness of consciousness to self-care, the self-knowledge, and the self-esteems recovery. The educational material, which was considered a product of the AR, was elaborated by means of the diagnosis of problems, potentialities, needs and demands related to womens experience regarding the climacteric period. The educational booklet was validated by an expert and by the women who participated of this study.

Este estudo discute a visita médica domiciliar, com base em pesquisa realizada no município de Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, tendo como cenário o Programa Saúde da Família. O objetivo principal foi compreender a visita médica como espaço de interação e instrumento potencializador da comunicação entre o profissional, o paciente e sua família. Adotaram-se metodologia qualitativa e estudo de caso com triangulação de técnicas, combinando entrevistas, observação participante e leitura de documentos. Realizaram-se entrevistas com roteiros semiestruturados, um para os profissionais e outro para o usuário e familiares. As entrevistas foram gravadas e transcritas com autorização de pacientes e profissionais, e o termo de consentimento livre e informado foi assinado por todos os participantes. Foram entrevistados um médico, seis médicas de família e dez usuários com seus familiares, os quais receberam visitas desses profissionais. Em etapa concomitante às entrevistas, realizou-se observação dos profissionais médicos no período de realização de visitas domiciliares, sendo observadas pela pesquisadora dez visitas domiciliares. A análise dos resultados constatou que a visita permite ao profissional médico refletir sobre sua prática, colocando para ele desafios que envolvem sua capacidade em comunicar-se e interagir fora de um contexto protegido, representado pelo centro de saúde e o consultório, e onde as demandas surgem conforme o modo de vida do paciente e sua família. A percepção dos profissionais em relação à visita é de que se trata de uma atividade que atua positivamente na evolução clínica dos pacientes atendidos, pois foi relatada uma diminuição do número de internações hospitalares depois de iniciado o acompanhamento domiciliar. Para os profissionais, o acompanhamento médico e o tratamento propostos são influenciados pelo vínculo estabelecido entre profissional, paciente e família, que favorece a comunicação e permite uma interação que impacta o tratamento instituído. Os problemas de saúde que motivaram as visitas são em geral doenças crônicas, mas também problemas agudos podem demandar o atendimento. A ausência de um cuidador não impediu que o profissional médico mantivesse o acompanhamento domiciliar. A elegibilidade de critérios para visita médica varia conforme a situação que é vivenciada pelas equipes de saúde, existindo a preocupação de que a assistência aconteça de forma participativa. Os usuários e familiares relataram que a visita médica propicia uma relação mais próxima com o médico e a compreensão do caso. Concluiu-se que a visita domiciliar favorece o estabelecimento de uma comunicação voltada ao entendimento mútuo, ao possibilitar que a hierarquia rigidamente demarcada entre médico e paciente seja questionada, quando aspectos do contexto, das relações do usuário com sua família e comunidade entram em cena. A interação que ocorre suscita que o profissional busque condutas que vão além da eficácia técnica (êxito técnico), na direção do sucesso prático, promovendo maior participação do paciente e família em relação ao cuidado realizado / This study discusses the domiciliary medical visit, with base in research accomplished in the municipal district of Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, in the context of the Family Health Program. The main objective was to understand medical visit as a space for interaction and as a powerful instrument of communication between the professional, the patient and his or her family. Qualitative methodology and case study were adopted along with triangulation techniques, combining interviews, participant observation and the reading of documents. Interviews with semi-structured scripts were performed, one for doctors and another for users and relatives. The interviews were recorded and transcribed with the patients and the professionals permission, and a free consent and informed form were signed by all participants. Seven doctors and ten users and their relatives, who had received visits of these doctors, were interviewed. In step concurrently with the interviews, medical professionals were observed while home visiting ten families who were not interviewed later by the researcher. By analyzing the information it was found that the visit allows the doctor to ponder on his or her professional practice, putting him or her through challenges that involve his or her ability to communicate and interact outside of a protected context, represented by the health center and clinic, and where the demands arising from the way of life of patients and their families shows up. The perception of professionals over the visit is that it is an activity that is effective in the clinical outcome of patients treated, as was reported a decrease in the number of hospital admissions after the start of home care. For professionals, the medical monitoring and proposed treatment adhesion are influenced by the bond established between professional, patient and family, which improves communication and allows an interaction that impacts the treatment. The health problems that motivated the visits were, in general, chronicle diseases, but also acute problems can demand attendance. The absence of a caregiver did not prevent the medical professional to maintain the home care. The eligibility criteria for medical visits vary according to the situation that is experienced by health staff. Care is taken so that the assistance takes place in a participatory manner. The users and their relatives related that the medical visit allows closer relation with the doctor and the comprehension of the case. It was concluded that domiciliary medical visit favors the interaction between those involved by establishing communication geared towards mutual understanding, raising questions about the inflexible hierarchy between doctor and patient when aspects of the context and the relations of users with their families and community emerge. The interaction that occurs gears the professional towards a conduct which seeks to go beyond the technical efficiency (technical success), heading into the practical success and promoting the participation of the patient and family regarding the care provided

O Programa Articuladores da Atenção Básica, iniciativa da Secretaria Estadual da Saúde de São Paulo (SES-SP), objetiva apoiar o processo de qualificação da Atenção Básica no estado e oferecer suporte técnico aos municípios na reorientação do modelo de atenção em saúde. O Programa estabeleceu uma nova função profissional, a do articulador da atenção básica. Destacam-se, dentre os pré-requisitos para execução dessa nova função, habilidades de comunicação e negociação. Devido à escassez de informações na literatura sobre o Programa, e à falta de clareza quanto ao papel desempenhado, na prática, por esses novos profissionais, delineamos este estudo com o objetivo de compreender e analisar a forma como os articuladores da atenção básica significam sua atuação profissional. Buscamos, ao mesmo tempo, oferecer contribuições da Psicologia sobre o processo de comunicação e sua relação com esta nova proposta. Participaram deste estudo treze articuladores alocados em quatro Departamentos Regionais de Saúde (DRS) que formam a Rede de Atenção à Saúde XIII do estado de São Paulo (DRS de Ribeirão Preto, Araraquara, Franca e Barretos). As entrevistas individuais e semiestruturadas foram gravadas em áudio e, posteriormente, transcritas na íntegra. A análise do corpus possui delineamento qualitativo com respaldo teórico nas contribuições do movimento construcionista social em Psicologia, realizada a partir das seguintes etapas: 1ª) transcrição das entrevistas; 2ª) leitura em profundidade das transcrições; 3ª) organização temática e produção de sentidos. Os resultados são apresentados em dois momentos. O primeiro, em que analisamos a prática do articulador a partir de dois temas principais: a) A implantação do programa; e b) A prática do articulador; e o segundo em que apresentamos a análise sobre o processo de comunicação envolvido nesta função, também dividido em três temas principais: a) O que fazem, tema que descreve as ações; b) Como fazem, tema que analisa a comunicação envolvida a partir de dois modelos de comunicação, o transmissional e o construcionista social; e c) Reflexões sobre a mudança do modelo de atenção e a prática do articulador da atenção básica. De modo geral, concluímos que o Programa dos articuladores possui grande potencial para promover mudanças positivas que possibilitam a mudança do modelo de atenção, levando em consideração, ao mesmo tempo, a realidade local. Porém, na prática a atuação dos profissionais se mostra ainda em construção, oscilando entre o papel informante e o papel transformador. O modo como os profissionais significam sua prática e se comunicam com os demais delineia os objetivos traçados e resultados decorrentes de sua atuação. Esperamos, ao descrever os principais recursos teóricos e técnicos necessários ao desempenho dessa função, contribuir com o entendimento da prática do articulador da atenção básica, bem como contribuir para a participação da Psicologia no campo das políticas de saúde. (FAPESP, nº 2012/17264-8). / The Articulators of Primary Healthcare Program, an initiative by the Health State Secretary of São Paulo (SES-SP), aims to support the qualification process of Primary Healthcare in the state area, and to offer technical support to the municipalities in the reorientation of the healthcare model. The Program established a new professional function the articulator of primary healthcare. Communication and negotiation abilities are highlighted as requirements for the carrying out of this function. This study was designed because of the scarcity of information about this Program on scientific literature and because of a lack of clarity regarding the role that these professionals play in practice. The study aims to understand and to analyze how articulators of primary healthcare signify their professional work. We seek, at the same time, to offer contributions from Psychology about the communication process and its relations to this new proposal. Thirteen articulators participated in this study. They work in four Regional Departments of Health (DRS) that compound the Healthcare Network number XIII of the state of São Paulo (Ribeirão Preto, Araraquara, Franca and Barretos DRS). Individual and semi structured interviews were audio recorded and later fully transcribed. The analysis of the research corpus is a qualitative design, theoretically supported by the contributions of the social constructionist movement in Psychology. The analysis was carried out in the following stages: 1st) interview transcription; 2nd) deep reading of the transcripts; 3rd) thematic organization and meaning making. The results are presented in two moments. In the first moment, we analyze the articulators practice from two themes: a) Implementation of the Program; and b) The articulators practice. In the second moment we present the analysis of the communication process that is part of this practice. This moment is divided in three main themes: a) What they do, a theme that describes their activities; b) How they do it, a theme that analyzes the communication involved from the standpoint of two models of communication (transmissional and social constructionist); and c) Reflections about the changes in the healthcare model and the primary healthcare articulators practice. In general, we concluded that the Articulators Program has a great potential to promote positive changes that make the transformation of the healthcare model possible, at the same time that it takes into consideration the local reality. However, in practice, the work of the professionals is still found under construction, coming back and forth between the roles of informant and change maker. The ways how the professionals understand their practices and how they communicate with each other design their objectives and the results their work bring about. In describing the main theoretical and technical resources required by this professional function, we expect to contribute to the understanding of the practice of the articulators of primary, as well as to contribute to the participation of Psychology in the field of health policies. (FAPESP, grant number 2012/17264-8).

Este estudo teve o propósito de analisar a percepção, a experiência e os sentimentos dos familiares que perderam seu ente querido, bem como dos profissionais que prestaram atendimento a estes pacientes em dois hospitais públicos distintos, em uma UTI para Adultos e na UTI Pediátrica na cidade de Porto Alegre, RS. Foi aplicado um questionário semi-estruturado para as enfermeiras e os médicos, que neste estudo são chamados de profissionais. Concomitante, foi realizada uma entrevista aberta com os familiares dos pacientes que morreram dentro destas Unidades. Nas entrevistas, utilizou-se o método de análise de conteúdo interpretativo, buscando compreender as possíveis realidades, expressas ou não, nas mensagens analisadas. Pela análise das entrevistas, pode-se concluir que as famílias têm sentimentos de confiança em relação à equipe assistencial; que a comunicação é clara e compreensível; fazendo-se necessário o planejamento de espaços físicos adequados para que a família possa se sentir mais acolhida dentro das UTI, e urge a aproximação entre os familiares e profissionais a fim de que o sofrimento com a morte deixe de ser apenas um fato gerado pela doença física e tenha entendimento multidimensional. As famílias referem que o apoio institucional está restrito às questões burocráticas (entrega da certidão de óbito) e que não tiveram nenhum tipo de apoio após a morte do seu familiar. Os resultados dos questionários mostram que temas como a morte e o morrer são pouco debatidos, que a equipe precisa ser mais bem preparada para cuidar de pacientes no fim da vida e que a presença da família dentro das UTIs ainda requer maiores discussões, a fim de que possa ser vista como uma parte do cuidado e não como acompanhante/visitante. É possível que, através de ações simples, a instituição hospitalar possa auxiliar as famílias a elaborarem o luto durante o período de internação hospitalar e até mesmo após o óbito dos seus familiares, oferecendo um alívio ao sofrimento, uma segurança em relação à assistência e uma melhor qualidade de cuidado. / This study had the intention of analyzing the perception, the experience and the feelings of relatives who have lost loved ones, likewise the professionals who care to them in two different public hospitals, one an adult ICU and the other a pediatric ICU at the city of Porto Alegre, RS. A questionnaire was applied to the nurses and doctors, in this study called professionals. Simultaneously, an interview was conducted with the families of the deceased patients at the Unites. In the interviews it was used the method of imperative content, trying to understand the possible realities, expressed or not, of the analyzed messages. Through the analyze of interviews it was possible to intuit that the families had a feeling of trust into the care team; that the communication is clear and understandable; making it necessary the planning of proper physical space, so the families can feel more welcomed in the ICU, and urges an approach between the families and the professionals in order to make the grief less painful and start to be seeing as a multidimensional understanding. The families report that the institutional support is restricted to bureaucratic matters (delivery of death certificate) and that they never had any support after the passing of their family member. The questionnaire‘s results show that the subject of death and dying are little discussed, and that the team needs to be more prepared to care patients at the ends of their lives and the presence of families inside the ICU still requires further discussions, so they can be seen as part of the care and not as a companion or visitor. It is possible that, through simple actions, the hospital institution can help families elaborate mourning during the time of hospitalization and even after the death of their relatives, offering a relive to the pain, a security to the assistance and a better quality of care.

Introduction: Nursing presence occurs when nurses expend themselves on the behalf of a unique patient. This phenomenon requires further research to develop instruments. The Presence of Nursing Scale (PONS) measures the patient’s perspective (Kostovich, 2012). Psychometric testing of PONS-Revised using exploratory factor analysis is warranted to further develop a reliable and valid measure of nursing presence. Contextual workplace variables need exploration in inpatient settings for correlation with nursing presence. Method(s): A convenience sample of 122 adult inpatients from ten acute-care nursing units in a Southeastern Magnet hospital were surveyed to conduct the first psychometric testing of this revised instrument using exploratory factor analyses. Seven research questions evaluated potential correlations between the PONS-R, patient satisfaction using nurse-sensitive measures of HCAHPS, nursing unit-specific workforce factors and patient demographic factors. Results: PONS-R demonstrated high internal consistency reliability (r = .974), test-retest reliability (statistically significant at the .01 level) and divergent validity (p=.002). PONS-R compared to nurse HCAHPS measures was statistically significant at the .01 level, (r = .736). EFA revealed one factor (eigenvalues over 1), with a weak secondary factor centered on intimacy factors suggesting addition of items and repeated study with a larger sample size to further psychometrically develop the instrument. Unexpected negative correlations were found with unit-workforce factors including average RN experience level (r= -.185, significant at the .05 level), and average RN age (r = - .218). An unexpected positive correlation was found - percentage of Associate degree nurses (r = .269, statistically significant at the .05 level. The Triangle region was correlated with a higher PONS-R score (p = .038; n=4), otherwise no statistically significant correlations were found for PONS-R and patient demographics nor patient-specific variables such as estimated number of RN providing care, nor length of stay on the unit. Discussion & Conclusions: Further psychometric testing is indicated with larger samples and perhaps with the inclusion of intimacy factor items. Additional correlational studies focused on other patient quality outcomes measures with expansion of nurse demographics is indicated to explore for confounding variables.

Objective. To evaluate the impact of an interprofessional blended learning course on medical and pharmacy students’ patient-centered interpersonal communication skills and to compare precourse and postcourse communication skills across first-year medical and second-year pharmacy student cohorts. Methods. Students completed ten 1-hour online modules and participated in five 3-hour group sessions over one semester. Objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) were administered before and after the course and were evaluated using the validated Common Ground Instrument. Nonparametric statistical tests were used to examine pre/postcourse domain scores within and across professions. Results. Performance in all communication skill domains increased significantly for all students. No additional significant pre/postcourse differences were noted across disciplines. Conclusion. Students’ patient-centered interpersonal communication skills improved across multiple domains using a blended learning educational platform. Interview abilities were embodied similarly between medical and pharmacy students postcourse, suggesting both groups respond well to this form of instruction.