Offering antenatal sickle cell and thalassaemia screening in primary care: a pre-post evaluation of a brief type of communication skills training.

Objective: To evaluate brief communication skills training for healthcare professionals (HCPs) in offering antenatal sickle cell and thalassaemia (SCT) screening in primary care.

Design: Descriptive study within a cluster randomised controlled trial in 17 inner city practices.

Methods: 126 HCPs were invited to attend a training session. Outcome measures were: attendance; perceived usefulness of training; comfort and confidence in offering screening; offering screening at pregnancy confirmation consultations; gestational age at test uptake.

Results: 62% (78/126) HCPs attended training and 61 completed both pre- and post-training questionnaires. There were 49 new joiners and locums not in post at the start of the trial. After training, HCPs reported greater comfort [4.8 vs 5.4, p = 0.05] and confidence [4.6 vs 5.6, p<0.001] in offering screening. Pregnant women consulting trained HCPs were offered screening more frequently and at an earlier gestational age than those consulting untrained HCPs (75% vs 44%, χ(2) = 122, p<0.001; 91.5 days (attending training) vs 98.5 days (did not attend training) vs 101.8 days (new joiners and locums), F = 8.49, df 1069,2 p = 0.001).

Conclusion: Brief communication skills training for HCPs in offering antenatal SCT screening in primary care is feasible and can be effective.

Practice Implications: Ways of maximising HCP attendance in training sessions requires consideration.