Increasing Cancer Screening: Creating Trust & Psychological Safety Through Trauma-Informed Communication
For many patients, cancer screening can bring feelings of fear, uncertainty, vulnerability, or concerns shaped by previous healthcare experiences. How healthcare professionals communicate before, during, and after screening conversations can influence a patient’s willingness to ask questions, express concerns, and take the next step toward completing recommended screening.
This 90-minute webinar explores how trauma-informed communication can help healthcare professionals create confidence and psychological safety during cancer screening interactions. Participants will examine how trauma, stress, and past experiences can affect communication, decision-making, and engagement with healthcare services—and how everyday interactions can either strengthen or unintentionally undermine confidence.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Define trauma and recognize how trauma and stress can influence communication, behavior, decision-making, and engagement in cancer screening.
- Define psychological safety and identify communication behaviors that can build or diminish confidence and a sense of safety during patient and team interactions.
- Recognize communication barriers that may contribute to patient hesitation, fear, or disengagement from recommended cancer screening.
- Apply trauma-informed listening and speaking techniques to strengthen rapport, trust, and psychological safety during cancer screening conversations.
- Use practical communication strategies to support patient engagement across key points in the screening process, including outreach, scheduling, screening discussions, and follow-up.