A new healthcare education program developed in rural WA has been breaking down communication barriers between clinicians and Aboriginal patients.
‘Clinical Yarning’ is a patient-centred communication framework to increase healthcare professionals’ knowledge, confidence and competence in delivering care to Aboriginal patients.
Yarning is a style of communication used by Aboriginal Australians that is informal, two-way, and often involves exchange of information via storytelling. The program helps clinicians to re-conceptualise clinical communication as a social, diagnostic and management yarn.
The process of Clinical Yarning focusses on establishing trust and connectedness with patients and understanding a person’s health concerns by engaging with them in a friendly and culturally appropriate way.
Professor Juli Coffin, from Murdoch University’s Ngangk Yira Institute for Change, said it was well-documented that communication barriers existed in Aboriginal healthcare. But little research had focussed on way to improve communication between professionals and Aboriginal patients.
“The Clinical Yarning program teaches professionals how to deliver high-quality and accessible healthcare to Aboriginal patients,” Professor Coffin said.
“The program is underpinned by the principles of cultural security and adult learning. It utilises a behavioural skills approach and bridges a gap to significantly improve experiences and outcomes for Aboriginal patients and reduce the high burden of illness amongst Aboriginal communities.
“It enables the clinician to explain health information in culturally and contextually meaningful ways that engage patients, and their family, in treatment decision-making.”
Healthcare professionals involved in the program reported significant improvements in self-rated communication skills, ability, confidence, knowledge, and the perceived importance of communication training.
They strongly recommended the program to others and stated that simulation and interactive learning activities were valuable aspects of the training.
Professor Coffin said there were challenges in delivering education in remote areas, such as workforce transiency and availability of participants, so potential flexible training options had been identified.
These including building multilevel partnerships within health services, offering alternate training options such as eLearning or train-the-trainer approaches, and integrating into existing development programs.