Integrative Review of Nonviolent Communication Intervention Studies

Purpose: This study aimed to uncover the evidence for developing effective communication intervention programs by analyzing and evaluating Communication Intervention Studies using Nonviolent Communication (NVC-CI). The specific purposes were to analyze general characteristics of NVC-CI studies, intervention contents, and the effectiveness of the studies. Methods: This was an integrative review that analyzed NVC-CI studies published from 2005 to 2015 identified through searches of five Korean electronic databases. The method proposed by Whittemore and Knafl was applied. This contains four stages: problem identification, literature search, data evaluation, and data analysis. Results: Twelve studies met the inclusion criteria. Most of the experimental designs were Quasi-experimental studies. These included 9 papers (75%), one qualitative study, one mixed methodology, and one case study (8.3% respectively). Most NVC-CI studies used group intervention. In order to effectively change communication patterns, interventions needed about 10~11 sessions 1~2 times a week. Conclusion: Future research with well-designed clinical trials using NVC-CI needs to be done in the area of mental health nursing to promote communication skills.