How does age impact understanding of epistemic adverbs in health communication?

Objective: Not much is known about how one's understanding of words may differ with age. Here we explore how epistemic adverbs - as used in health communication to indicate degrees of uncertainty and risk - are understood by older and younger monolingual speakers of Australian English.

Methods: We used an online dissimilarity rating task with sentence pairs presented as first and second doctor opinions which differed only with respect to the embedded epistemic adverbs (e.

A multidimensional assessment of payback: Evaluating the impact of Breast Cancer Trials.

Aim: This study evaluates the impact created by clinical trial investment and research undertaken by Breast Cancer Trials (BCT).

Methods: The approach involved using the Payback Framework, and included a review of BCT archival information, public health data, a questionnaire sent to BCT members, individual interviews with key informants, a focus group with members of the organization's Consumer Advisory Panel, and case studies of select BCT trials. The evaluation assessed the evidence against the Payback Framework criteria: informing policy and product development, knowledge production, the research system, health and health sector benefits, and broader economic benefits.

The impact of bilinguality and language context on the understanding of epistemic adverbs in health communication: the case of English and Russian.

Aim: To explore how English epistemic adverbs, as used in health communication, are understood by speakers depending on their first language (L1) and language context.

Methods: We used an online dissimilarity rating task with paired doctors' opinions which differed only with respect to the embedded epistemic adverbs (e.g.

Yarning about pain: Evaluating communication training for health professionals at persistent pain services in Queensland, Australia.

Background: Providing cultural education to health professionals is essential in improving the quality of care and outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients. This study reports the evaluation of a novel training workshop used as an intervention to improve communication with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients of persistent pain services.

Methods: In this single-arm intervention study, health professionals undertook a one-day workshop, which included cultural capability and communication skills training based on a clinical yarning framework.

: Experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people managing pain in Queensland, Australia.

Background: Pain management requires a multidisciplinary approach and a collaborative relationship between patient-provider in which communication is crucial. This study examines the communication experiences of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Hospital Liaison Officers (ATSIHLOs), to improve understanding of how pain is managed in and through patient-health professional communication.

Methods: This qualitative study involved a purposive sample of patients attending three persistent pain clinics and ATSIHLOs working in two hospitals in Queensland, Australia.