BOOK CHAPTERS

Managing improvement in healthcare: Attaining, sustaining and spreading quality
In A. M. McDermott, M. Kitchener, M. Exworthy (Eds.)
Palgrave Macmillan, 2017

Chapter 1: Evolving Dimensions in Quality Care -- Comparing Physician and Managerial Perspectives (Amati, Brook, Kaissi & Hannawa, 2017)
Research has identified criteria to assess quality to improve it. About fifty years ago, Sanazaro and Williamson created a classification of effective and ineffective performance by asking physicians to provide examples of good and poor care. This study replicates Sanazaro and Williamson’s design using a sample of health care managers instead of physicians, to compare perceived dimensions of quality care and to discuss differences and similarities. 135 episodes of good and poor quality care were collected from 74 health care managers in the United States. The data were categorized using Sanazaro and Williamson’s classification. Findings suggest that this classification is still valuable, but the importance attributed to the dimensions of quality has changed over time, and some new subcategories have emerged in relation to the process (e.g. Communication, Timeliness, Guidelines adherence, Patient-centeredness) and the outcomes of care (e.g. System adjustments, Utilization of resources, Perception / reputation of the facility). This chapter highlights dimensions of quality that improvement initiatives should target.

International Encyclopedia of Communication Research Methods
J. Matthes (Ed.)
Wiley, 2017

Validation (A. F. Hannawa)

Validity and validation are essential concerns when it comes to the development, evaluation, and use of measures, assessments, tests or scales. While validity refers to the quality of the inferences or claims that are drawn from the scores of an instrument, validation is a process in which various sources of validity evidence are accumulated and synthesized to support the appropriateness, meaningfulness and usefulness (i.e., validity) of inferences that are drawn from instrument scores. Thus, without validation, any inferences made from an instrument are meaningless. This entry discusses the historical emergence of validation practices, elaborates the five standard forms of validation, and closes with a reflection on the importance of the level of analysis in contemporary validation studies.

Encyclopedia of Health Communication
T. L. Thompson & G. J. Golson (Eds.)
Sage, 2014

Chapter 1: Communication and patient safety (A. F. Hannawa)
Abstract: Communication is an essential component of safe and reliable medical care. At the same time, it frequently poses a threat to patient safety. In fact, communication breakdowns have been identified as the root cause of a large majority of sentinel events. Part of the problem lies in the system; health care often takes place under hectic stress and time pressure, generating barriers to effective communication. However, despite recent human factors interventions, the number of adverse events remain high, calling for communication skill enhancements. This chapter lays out seven concrete roles of communication in promoting patient safety.

Chapter 2: Disclosure of medical errors (A. F. Hannawa)
Abstract: The investigation of communication competencies in the context of medical error disclosure has attracted significant research interest in numerous academic disciplines since the publication of the renowned Harvard Medical Practice Studies in 1991. Preliminary empirical evidence has successfully associated numerous therapeutic and relational benefits with effective disclosures. However, the results remain inconclusive until severe methodological limitations of the existing research findings are addressed. This chapter illustrates how medical error disclosure is an important new area for health communication inquiry that offers great potential to affect health outcomes and enhance quality of care.

Handbuch Gesundheitskommunikation
In K. Hurrelmann & E. Baumann (Eds.)
Verlag Hans Huber, 2014

Arzt-Patient Interaktion (A. F. Hannawa)
This chapter organizes the literature to date on doctor-patient interactions and suggests future avenues for research and practice.

Handbook of Communication Competence
In A. F. Hannawa & B. H. Spitzberg (Eds.)
Mouton deGruyter, 2014

Miscommunication and Error (A. F. Hannawa)
This chapter reviews and integrates the current interdisciplinary literature on miscommunication and errors. It conceptualizes the two terms in light of existing communication research and theory, and identifies the various roles of communication in the prevention, intervention, and response to errors and misunderstandings. Future scientific and applied developments are discussed.