Dr. Ulla Connor, an English Professor at IU Indianapolis, and an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals working with the International Center for Intercultural Communication are currently conducting two research projects in the use of a novel, validated communication system, the CoMac Segmentation and Communication System, in health care contexts in the IU Department of Anesthesia and in the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, Kenya. The CoMac System, which segments patients according to their own language and ways of speaking about health, has been shown among people with Type 2 diabetes to increase the probability that the patient will understand and adopt the behavior changes desired by the clinician. In Kenya, CoMac will be adapted to an international diabetes education context to promote increased uptake of medical and behavioral advice. In the Department of Anesthesia, CoMac will be piloted among patients receiving hepatobiliary surgeries to increase adherence to an existing pre-surgical protocol, the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery program. Click here to learn more here about this cutting-edge system.
Dr. Connor presenting on the projects.
