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Background: There is a paucity of research concerning paediatric dental consultations in primary care. This is potentially due to the difficulty of measuring the communication behaviours in the complex triadic consultations. The present study aims to describe the development and refinement of a coding scheme to record the triadic communication between dental professionals, child patients and parents., Methods: The PaeD-TrICS was developed from video observation of triadic communications and refined through an iterative process. Its practical applicability was assessed via implementation of the scheme on specialised behavioural coding software. Reliability was calculated using Cohen's Kappa., Results: The PaeD-TrICS contains 45 codes. Forty-four dental professional-child-parent communications were successfully coded through administering the scheme on The Observer XT 10.5 system. Cohen's Kappa was 0.83 (inter-coder) and 0.90 (intra-coder). "Parental verbal facilitation" (mean = 1.68/min) was the most frequent behaviour. Dental professionals' "dentally engaging talk" (mean = 1.24/min), "praise" (mean = 1.10/min) and "instruction" (mean = 0.62/min) were frequently seen. Children's common behaviours included "speech other" (mean = 0.66/min) and non-verbal behaviour i.e. "non-verbal agreement" and verbal behaviour "speech yes" (mean = 0.26/min)., Conclusions: The PaeD-TrICS is developed to capture the communication behaviour of the triadic consultations in a preventive dental setting. It demonstrates satisfactory intra- and inter-coder reliability and has been successfully used in paediatric dental consultations.

Objective: To discuss the theoretical and empirical framework of VR-CoDES and potential future direction in research based on the coding system., Methods: The paper is based on selective review of papers relevant to the construction and application of VR-CoDES., Results: VR-CoDES system is rooted in patient-centered and biopsychosocial model of healthcare consultations and on a functional approach to emotion theory. According to the VR-CoDES, emotional interaction is studied in terms of sequences consisting of an eliciting event, an emotional expression by the patient and the immediate response by the clinician. The rationale for the emphasis on sequences, on detailed classification of cues and concerns, and on the choices of explicit vs. non-explicit responses and providing vs. reducing room for further disclosure, as basic categories of the clinician responses, is described., Conclusions: Results from research on VR-CoDES may help raise awareness of emotional sequences. Future directions in applying VR-CoDES in research may include studies on predicting patient and clinician behavior within the consultation, qualitative analyses of longer sequences including several VR-CoDES triads, and studies of effects of emotional communication on health outcomes., Practice Implications: VR-CoDES may be applied to develop interventions to promote good handling of patients' emotions in healthcare encounters., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional sequences (VR-CoDES) system has been applied in a wide range of studies, in some of these, because of its attention on healthcare provider's ability to respond to patient emotions, it has been used as a proxy of patient-centeredness. The paper aims to discuss how the VR-CoDES can contribute to the broader concept of patient-centeredness and its limitations., Methods: VR-CoDES and patient-centeredness concept are briefly described, trying to detect commonalities and distinctions. The VR-CoDES dimensions of Explicit/non explicit responding and Providing or Reducing Space are analysed in relation to relevant aspects of patient-centred communication., Results: Emotional aspects are encompassed within patient-centeredness model, but they represent only one of the numerous dimensions that contribute to define patient-centeredness as well as Explicit/non explicit responding and Providing or Reducing Space serve different functions during communication., Conclusion: The VR-CoDES can contribute to operationalize the description of emotional aspects emerging in a consultation, by inducing coders to adopt a factual attitude in assessing how health providers react to patient's expression of emotions., Practice Implications: To better define empirically which measure affective aspects and dimensions of health provider responses are relevant and may contribute to patient-centeredness in different clinical settings., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Objective: To investigate whether the Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences to code health providers' responses (VR-CoDES-P) can be used for assessment of medical students' responses to patients' cues and concerns provided in written case vignettes., Methods: Student responses in direct speech to patient cues and concerns were analysed in 21 different case scenarios using VR-CoDES-P., Results: A total of 977 student responses were available for coding, and 857 responses were codable with the VR-CoDES-P. In 74.6% of responses, the students used either a "reducing space" statement only or a "providing space" statement immediately followed by a "reducing space" statement. Overall, the most frequent response was explicit information advice (ERIa) followed by content exploring (EPCEx) and content acknowledgement (EPCAc)., Discussion: VR-CoDES-P were applicable to written responses of medical students when they were phrased in direct speech. The application of VR-CoDES-P is reliable and feasible when using the differentiation of "providing" and "reducing space" responses. Communication strategies described by students in non-direct speech were difficult to code and produced many missings., Practice Implications: VR-CoDES-P are useful for analysis of medical students' written responses when focusing on emotional issues. Students need precise instructions for their response in the given test format., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Little is known about how older persons in home care express their concerns. Emotional cues and concerns can be identified by the Verona coding definitions of emotional sequences (VR-CoDES), but the method gives no insight into what causes the distress and the emotions involved. The aims of this study are to explore (1) older persons' worries and (2) the content of these expressions., Methods: An observational exploratory two-step approach was used to investigate audiotaped recordings from 38 Norwegian home care visits with older persons and nurse assistants. First, 206 cues and concerns were identified using VR-CoDES. Second, the content and context of these expressions were analysed inductively., Results: Four main categories emerged: worries about relationships with others, worries about health care-related issues, worries about aging and bodily impairment, and life narratives and value issues, with several subcategories showing the causes of worry and emotions involved., Conclusion: The two-step approach provides an in-depth knowledge of older persons' worries, causes of worries, and their related emotions., Practice Implications: The subcategories described in a language close to the experience can be useful in practice development and communication training for students and health care providers., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The immense volume of cases signed out by surgical pathologists on a daily basis gives little time to think about exactly how data are stored. An understanding of the basics of data representation has implications that affect a pathologist's daily practice. This article covers the basics of data representation and its importance in the design of electronic medical record systems. Coding in surgical pathology is also discussed. Finally, a summary of communication standards in surgical pathology is presented, including suggested resources that establish standards for select aspects of pathology reporting., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: The VR-CoDES has been previously applied in the dental context. However, we know little about how dental patients with intellectual disabilities (ID) and complex communication needs express their emotional distress during dental visits. This is the first study explored the applicability of the VR-CoDES to a dental context involving patients with ID., Methods: Fourteen dental consultations were video recorded and coded using the VR-CoDES, assisted with the additional guidelines for the VR-CoDES in a dental context. Both inter- and intra-coder reliabilities were checked on the seven consultations where cues were observed., Results: Sixteen cues (eight non-verbal) were identified within seven of the 14 consultations. Twenty responses were observed (12 reducing space) with four multiple responses. Cohen's Kappa were 0.76 (inter-coder) and 0.88 (intra-coder)., Conclusion: With the additional guidelines, cues and responses were reliably identified. Cue expression was exhibited by non-verbal expression of emotion with people with ID in the literature. Further guidance is needed to improve the coding accuracy on multiple providers' responses and to investigate potential impacts of conflicting responses on patients., Practice Implications: The findings provided a useful initial step towards an ongoing exploration of how healthcare providers identify and manage emotional distress of patients with ID., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To show if cues, concerns and provider responses (defined in VR-CoDES and VR-CoDES-P manuals) are present, can be reliably coded and require additional advice for adoption in a dental context., Methods: Thirteen patients in a dental practice setting were videoed with either their dentist or hygienist and dental nurse present in routine treatment sessions. All utterances were coded using the Verona systems: VR-CoDES and the VR-CoDES-P. Rates of cue, concerns and provider responses described and reliability tested., Results: The VR-CoDES and VR-CoDES-P were successfully applied in the dental context. The intra-rater ICCs for the detection of cues and concerns and provider response were acceptable and above 0.75. A similar satisfactory result was found for the inter-rater reliability., Conclusion: The VR-CoDES and the VR-CoDES-P are applicable in the dental setting with minor supporting guidelines and show evidence of reliable coding., Practice Implications: The VR-CoDES and the VR-CoDES-P may be helpful tools for analysing patient cues and concerns and the dental professionals' responses in the dental context., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The sequential analysis of client and clinician speech in psychotherapy sessions can help to identify and characterize potential mechanisms of treatment and behavior change. Previous studies required coding systems that were time-consuming, expensive, and error-prone. Existing software can be expensive and inflexible, and furthermore, no single package allows for pre-parsing, sequential coding, and assignment of global ratings. We developed a free, open-source, and adaptable program to meet these needs: The CASAA Application for Coding Treatment Interactions (CACTI). Without transcripts, CACTI facilitates the real-time sequential coding of behavioral interactions using WAV-format audio files. Most elements of the interface are user-modifiable through a simple XML file, and can be further adapted using Java through the terms of the GNU Public License. Coding with this software yields interrater reliabilities comparable to previous methods, but at greatly reduced time and expense. CACTI is a flexible research tool that can simplify psychotherapy process research, and has the potential to contribute to the improvement of treatment content and delivery.

Objective: To investigate whether different measures of inter-rater reliability will compute similar estimates with nominal data commonly encountered in communication studies. To make recommendations how reliability should be computed and described for communication coding instruments., Methods: The raw data from an inter-rater study with three coders were analysed with; Cohen's κ, sensitivity and specificity measures, Fleiss's multirater κj, and an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC)., Results: Minor differences were found between Cohen's κ and an ICC model across paired data (largest margin=0.01). There were negligible differences between the multirater estimates e.g. κj (0.52) and ICC (0.53). Sensitivity analyses were in general agreement with the multirater estimates., Conclusion: It is more practical to analyse nominal data with >2 raters with an appropriate model ICC for inter-rater studies, and little difference exists between Cohen's κ or an ICC., Practice Implication: Alternatives to Cohen's κ are readily available, but researchers need to be aware of the different ICC definitions. An ICC model should be fully described in reports. Investigators are encouraged to supply confidence limits with inter-rater data, and to revisit guidance regarding the relative strengths of agreement of reliability coefficients., (Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)