Training of medical students in communication skills for health education

Background: Basic medical graduate must possess skills of communication in health education for health promotion. There is a little scope for formal training in communication in health education in the current curriculum. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess the communication skills of undergraduates in health education and to assess the role of modular training in improving their communication skills. Materials and Methods: An interventional study conducted in a medical college in South India. A total of 88 2nd year medical students underwent four theory classes on health education. They were subsequently divided into two groups of 44 each. The intervention group underwent modular training for four sessions of 2 h duration each which included demonstration, video play, focused group discussion, and role play. The control group underwent repeat theory classes. All the students performed health education session of 15 min duration and were assessed by standardized blinded assessors using a questionnaire. Proportions and Z-tests were applied using SPSS (17.0). Results: Majority of the students in both the groups performed well in verbal communication skills such as clarity of speech (72.3% in control and 89.7% in intervention group) and being audible (84.1% in control and 89.7% in intervention group). Both the groups lacked non-verbal skills of interaction and involving the audience in discussion (45.5% in control and 43.6% in intervention group). There was no significant difference between the intervention and control groups in any of the parameters. Conclusion: Communication skills in health education among 2nd year medical students are poor. Short-term training has no effect in improving their communication skills.