Watzek D1, Imfeld FF1, Schöpflin J1
1Bern University of Applied Sciences, Health, Bern, Switzerland
Background: In the physio-therapeutic field of activity, the anamnesis is considered a crucial part which can have a decisive influence on the success of the treatment. There was no study found which particularly analyses the anamnesis by physiotherapists.
Further, only few studies were found which investigate the different effects of open-ended and closed-ended questions in the anamnesis in different medical and social professions.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether closed or open-ended questions trigger longer answers in a physiotherapeutic anamnesis and to observe the difference between first and second year students.
Methods: Out of communication training sessions for physiotherapy students, two sequences were selected because of their similar approach. The subjects participated in both sequences, the dialogs were transcribed. Open-ended and closed-ended questions were localised in the transcripts. The length of the answers was measured by counting the answers' words as a basis for subsequent statistical evaluations.
Results: A total of 14 videos of communication training sessions by seven subjects were analyzed. The average length of the answers was 3.6 times longer (year 1) and 4.6 times longer (year 2) for open-ended questions than for closed-ended questions. The difference of the average length of the answers was significant with a p-value of p = 0.015. In the first year students asked closed and open ended questions with a quote of 1.6 and the second year the quote reduced to 1.4.
Conclusion(s): Open-ended questions trigger longer answers during second year communication training than in the first year. And these students also use relatively more open questions than in the first year of studies. This may be an improvement in communicational skills even after their first experiences in practice. It was beyond the scope of this study to further explore if longer answers also contain more information. However, taking into account that history taking follows International Classification of Functions, it can be assumed that longer answers also contain more information. Further studies on this topic are required to examine the information content in the corresponding answers.
Implications: The use of open-ended questions can be recommended for physiotherapy students, especially in the first half of the anamnesis. Although no “real” patients were interviewed in the communication trainings, the findings of this study can also be used in practise. Due to the clear results, these findings can also be recommended for experienced physiotherapists and other healthcare professionals.
Keywords: Health Communication, Verbal Behavior, Medical History Taking
Funding acknowledgements: Work was unfunded
Further, only few studies were found which investigate the different effects of open-ended and closed-ended questions in the anamnesis in different medical and social professions.
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether closed or open-ended questions trigger longer answers in a physiotherapeutic anamnesis and to observe the difference between first and second year students.
Methods: Out of communication training sessions for physiotherapy students, two sequences were selected because of their similar approach. The subjects participated in both sequences, the dialogs were transcribed. Open-ended and closed-ended questions were localised in the transcripts. The length of the answers was measured by counting the answers' words as a basis for subsequent statistical evaluations.
Results: A total of 14 videos of communication training sessions by seven subjects were analyzed. The average length of the answers was 3.6 times longer (year 1) and 4.6 times longer (year 2) for open-ended questions than for closed-ended questions. The difference of the average length of the answers was significant with a p-value of p = 0.015. In the first year students asked closed and open ended questions with a quote of 1.6 and the second year the quote reduced to 1.4.
Conclusion(s): Open-ended questions trigger longer answers during second year communication training than in the first year. And these students also use relatively more open questions than in the first year of studies. This may be an improvement in communicational skills even after their first experiences in practice. It was beyond the scope of this study to further explore if longer answers also contain more information. However, taking into account that history taking follows International Classification of Functions, it can be assumed that longer answers also contain more information. Further studies on this topic are required to examine the information content in the corresponding answers.
Implications: The use of open-ended questions can be recommended for physiotherapy students, especially in the first half of the anamnesis. Although no “real” patients were interviewed in the communication trainings, the findings of this study can also be used in practise. Due to the clear results, these findings can also be recommended for experienced physiotherapists and other healthcare professionals.
Keywords: Health Communication, Verbal Behavior, Medical History Taking
Funding acknowledgements: Work was unfunded
Topic: Education; Professional practice: other; Education: methods of teaching & learning
Ethics approval required: No
Institution: Bern University of Applied Sciences
Ethics committee: internal Ethics Committee
Reason not required: According to Swiss legislation, no approval was necessary since no personal health-related data was collected.
All authors, affiliations and abstracts have been published as submitted.
