COMmunicating Together (COMT study)

Background:

Group consultations have been gaining ground in the UK as a new way of delivering clinical care to multiple patients at the same time, with potential benefits resulting from peer support and time efficiencies. They are currently delivered in two formats, either on video with all patients attending remotely, or in a hybrid format combining remote and in-person participants. Despite significant interest, we know little about how patients and clinicians interact in video and hybrid group consultations.

Aim:

To understand how best to collect and analyse data about the way patients and clinicians interact and communicate in video and hybrid group consultations, and inform a larger grant application.

Methods:

With participant permission, and drawing on previous experience in this area, we will use small cameras to video-record what is happening during video and hybrid group consultations. We will place one camera at the practice end to capture interactions between clinicians and any patients attending in-person. We will also work with one of the patients attending remotely, so we can join them at their preferred location and record how the interaction evolves at their end. Using in-built Teams functionality (as the software used to deliver group consultations) we will also record the group consultation as it unfolds online. We know from previous experience that video-recording consultations with multiple participants is labour-intensive and time-consuming, therefore in the context of this project we will aim to capture good quality data from 10-12 group consultations. We will also make notes about the wider context in which the consultations are taking place and will use specialist methods to combine and transcribe our data. Recordings will be kept securely and used only for the purposes of this research, taking appropriate measures to remove identifiable participant details.   

Discussion:

Benefits from video and hybrid group consultations cannot be realised unless optimal communication and interaction takes place among clinicians and patients. In this new way of providing care, patients receive and discuss their test results and self-care in the presence of other patients. This has the potential to enable peer support and motivation between patients, but also conflict and competition, as we have found in previous research. When joining a group session remotely, this also changes how interaction and communication works, and requires a different way of engaging with the group in the absence of non-verbal cues. The role and communication skills of facilitators are crucial to ensuring high quality, safe care continues to be provided in video and hybrid groups.   

Outputs:

Learning from this feasibility study will inform a larger funding application. We will also produce an academic paper and methodological guidance for researchers, lay summaries and will contribute to practical guidance for clinicians and patients.  

Amount Awarded: £44,364