Health professionals' understanding of person-centred communication for risk prevention conversations: an exploratory study.

Background: Health Professionals are required to balance care practices against patient risk to optimise safety. Communicating clinical risk with the patient requires confidence.Objective: The objective was to explore health professionals understanding and confidence of patient-centred communication during conversations of risk prevention.Design: An exploratory study was conducted.Methods: Nurses, physiotherapists and social workers in a metropolitan hospital in Sydney (New South Wales, Australia) completed face to face interviews (n = 16) regarding person-centred communication and clinical risk.Results: The sample was predominately female and had been a health profession for 11.5 years (mean). Six key themes were generated including: Perceptions of person-centred communication; Preparing for person-centred communication and Understanding and prioritising conversations about preventable clinical risk.Conclusions: Person-centred communication was embedded in clinical practice; the 'patient voice' was considered central. Clinical risk was a priority. Education to improve communication was highlighted as a way to enhance person-centred communication.