Assertiveness and effective communication in healthcare professionals: a state of art perspective through a narrative review

Journal title PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE
Author/s Danilo Atripaldi, Sonia Ambrogi, Ilaria Nicandra Capuano, Marina Ferrillo, Federica Osso, Francesca Baggio, Teresa Cosentino
Publishing Year 2026 Issue 2026/2
Language Italian Pages 13 P. 36-48 File size 210 KB
DOI 10.3280/PDS2026-002003
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Effective communication skills increasingly represent an essential skill in the training of health professionals, whose work is characterized by a high degree of responsibility and the need for constant interpersonal interaction. Effective communication is often associated with better patient-related outcomes, such as compliance and participation. Assertiveness or communication skills training could represent a direct way to improve these abilities in healthcare professionals. This paper aims to assess the state of the art of the literature on assertiveness or communication skills in these populations, through a narrative review. Available literature, updated until May 2024 and published in peer-reviewed journals, was consulted, selecting reviews on the topics covered in this paper: “assertiveness” or “communication skills” and “health professionals” or “health (healthcare) contexts.” The available evidence concentrated in the context of healthcare professionals (such as nursing staff, general practitioners, specialized physicians, and related students) aimed at promoting communication skills has shown a good degree of effectiveness, despite heterogeneous conducting methodologies. Studies that have explored the effectiveness of programs geared toward promoting communication skills and assertiveness have shown increased involvement in care by health care users, associated with an improvement in the quality of information received in the absence of impact on access time. Promoting research by including studies with diverse clinical populations would explore possible barriers to improving the quality of health care services.

Keywords: Professional education, healthcare, communication skills training, healthcare professionals, assertiveness.

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Danilo Atripaldi, Sonia Ambrogi, Ilaria Nicandra Capuano, Marina Ferrillo, Federica Osso, Francesca Baggio, Teresa Cosentino, Assertività e capacità di comunicazione efficace nei professionisti sanitari: stato dell’arte attraverso una rassegna narrativa in "PSICOLOGIA DELLA SALUTE" 2/2026, pp 36-48, DOI: 10.3280/PDS2026-002003