Medical Staff-Family Health Communication in Cancer

In recent years, there has been increasing awareness §regarding the importance of effective communication §between medical staff and families in patient health §care. A central focus has been provider-patient §communication, with the patient as the primary unit §of care. Historically, the role of the family in §cancer research has often been overlooked. §Increasing evidence demonstrates that the family §plays a key role in a patient s care and health §communication with medical staff. This book extends §our knowledge of medical staff-family health §communication in cancer by examining the relations §between communication and psychological variables. §It does this in three ways. Manuscript 1 examines §the psychometric soundness of select communication §variables. Second, a model of medical staff-family §communication is developed, integrating theory &§research in family, cancer and communication. Third, §a full, mediational and direct model of staff-family §communication is tested using structural equation §modeling (SEM). This book is especially relevant to §health providers, researchers, administrators, and §professionals in Psychology and Family Systems.