Empathic communication skills training to reduce lung cancer stigma: Study protocol of a cluster randomized control trial

Prior research demonstrates that nearly all (95 %) people with lung cancer (PwLC) report stigma, and approximately half (48 %) PwLC experience stigma during clinical encounters with oncology care providers (OCPs). When stigma is experienced in a medical context, it can have undesirable consequences including patients' delaying and underreporting of symptoms, misreporting of smoking behavior, and avoiding help-seeking such as psychosocial support and cessation counseling. Multi-level interventions are needed to prevent and mitigate lung cancer stigma. One promising intervention for reducing patient perception and experience of stigma is to train OCPs in responding empathically to patient emotions and promoting empathic communication within clinical encounters.