A Relational Coordination Training Intervention to Improve Communication Among Health Care Professionals in the Intensive Care Unit

Background: High-quality communication among interdisciplinary team members in the intensive care unit (ICU) is potentially a team’s greatest asset or gravest shortcoming. Relational coordination (RC) is a framework to improve communication and the quality of care among health care professionals in various settings. Additional research is needed to determine whether an RC training intervention improves communication among health care professionals in the ICU. Objective: To explore whether a virtual RC training intervention improves communication among health care professionals in the ICU. Methods: We conducted a 2-group pilot study using a randomized controlled trial design in 4 ICUs. Participants in the intervention group participated in a single 1-hour virtual RC training intervention and completed surveys at baseline, 4 weeks, and 8 weeks after the RC training intervention. Only participants in the control group completed the surveys. We used a difference-in-difference model to investigate changes in RC scores. Results: A total of 22 participants in the intervention group participated in the RC training intervention. Survey completion rates varied across data collection time points for both the intervention and control groups. The RC training intervention did not improve RC scores. Participants with associate degrees and African American/Black participants reported lower RC. Discussion: A single RC training intervention may not be enough to influence communication or relationships within teams. Developing and testing educational interventions to enhance interprofessional communication and function through RC is key to improving communication and quality of care. Future investigators can glean lessons learned from our pilot study to design a more comprehensive study.