Communicating With The Older Adult Lecture Notes PDF

COMMUNICATING WITH THE OLDER ADULT BY: HENLYN E. ATANACIO,RN,MAN  OBJECTIVE: At the end of the discussion the students must be able to: 🠶 Describe meaningful communication. 🠶 Explore the role of communication among older adults’ active involvement in society. 🠶...

COMMUNICATING WITH THE OLDER ADULT BY: HENLYN E. ATANACIO,RN,MAN  OBJECTIVE: At the end of the discussion the students must be able to: 🠶 Describe meaningful communication. 🠶 Explore the role of communication among older adults’ active involvement in society. 🠶 Distinguish the barriers to communicating effectively among older adults. 🠶 Exemplify effective communication skills with older adults. 🠶 Illustrate communication with older adults COMMUNICATION 🠶 Is the process of exchanging information and the process of generating and transmitting meanings between two or more individuals. 🠶 It is the foundation of society and the most primary aspect of a nurse-patient interaction. 🠶 The ability to communicate is basic to human functioning and well being COMMUNICATION PROCESS 🠶 Communication involves the following: 🠶 Stimulus 🠶 Source (encoder) 🠶 Message 🠶 Channel of Communication 🠶 Receiver (decoder) 🠶 Feedback MEANINGFUL COMMUNICATION & ACTIVE INVOLVEMENT IN SOCIETY Contributes to healthy aging Improves older adults’ chances of – living longer – responding better to health care interventions –maintaining optimal function FORMS OF COMMUNICATION 🠶 Communication is a process of sending and receiving messages in the forms of verbal and nonverbal communication 🠶 VERBAL 🠶 N O N - VERBAL FORMS OF COMMUNICATION 🠶 VERBAL 🠶 Is a an exchange of information using WORDS, including both SPOKEN or WRITTEN Words 🠶 Depends on LANGUAGE 🠶 Language helps nurses assess what the patient knows and feels 🠶 Nurses use language to extensively when providing care for the patient 🠶 Examples: Writing care plans, giving oral reports, public speaking, writing for publication Verbal Communication Guidelines 🠶 Do not yell or speak too loudly 🠶 Communicate at eye level 🠶 Minimize background noise 🠶 Monitor patient’s reaction 🠶 Use touch as appropriate 🠶 Supplement verbal instruction with written instructions  Verbal Communication Guidelines 🠶 Use positive terms 🠶 Avoid using Medical Jargons 🠶 Avoid long, complicated instructions 🠶 Determine how patient would like to be addressed 🠶 Use caring responses and caring listening 🠶 Encourage reminiscing FORMS OF COMMUNICATION 🠶 NON-VERBAL 🠶 Transmission of information without the use of words 🠶 Often termed as body language 🠶 It helps nurses to understand subtle and hidden meanings on what is said verbally. 🠶 Nurses must be aware both the nonverbal and verbal communication they SEND and they RECEIVE from patients FORMS OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION 🠶 TOUCH 🠶 A personal behavior and means different things to different people 🠶 One of the most effective non-verbal ways to express feelings of comfort, love and affection, security, anger frustration, aggression and excitement 🠶 EYE CONTACT 🠶 Communication begins with eye contact 🠶 Suggests willingness to listen and to keep communication open FORMS OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION 🠶 FACIAL EXPRESSIONS 🠶 The face is the most expressive part of the body. 🠶 Conveys anger, sadness, fear and contempt 🠶 Nurses need to learn to control their own facial expression 🠶 POSTURE 🠶 The way a person holds the body 🠶 Good alignment vs slouch 🠶 Indicates pain or physical limitations FORMS OF NONVERBAL COMMNICATION 🠶 GAIT 🠶 Manner of walking/ way of walking 🠶 Bouncy purposeful walking vs shuffling gait 🠶 Certain gaits are associated with diseases 🠶 GESTURES 🠶 Use of body parts can carry numerous messages 🠶 Signifies when two people speaking in different language attempt to communicate with each other FORMS OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION 🠶 GENERAL PHYSICAL APPEARANCE 🠶 Most illnesses cause at least some alterations in general appearance. 🠶 Observing may help detect illness or evaluating the effectiveness of the therapy 🠶 MODES OF DRESS AND GROOMING 🠶 Carry significant nonverbal messages 🠶 Little interest vs detailed interests on grooming FORMS OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION 🠶 SOUNDS 🠶 Crying, moaning, gasping, and sighting are oral but nonverbal forms of communication. 🠶 SILENCE 🠶 Silence between two people might indicate complete understanding to each other, individuals are thinking or might mean angry to each other BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION 🠶 Failure to Perceive the Patient as a Human Being 🠶 Failure to Listen 🠶 Changing the Subject 🠶 Giving False Assurance 🠶 Gossip and Rumor 🠶 Inappropriate reassurances 🠶 Making judgments 🠶 Giving advice, telling the person what should be avoided 🠶 Challenging 🠶 Improper questioning Barriers to Communication 🠶 Fear of one’s own aging 🠶 Fear of showing emotion 🠶 Fear of missing something 🠶 Fear of being called on to rectify every problem 🠶 Lack of knowledge of patient’s culture, goals, and values 🠶 Unresolved issues with aging relatives in own family 🠶 Feelings that professional distance must be maintained 🠶 Being overworked, or overscheduled ACTIVE AND EFFECTIVE LISTENING 🠶 Listening is a skill that involves both hearing and interpreting what the other says. 🠶 It requires attention and concentration to sort out, evaluate, and validate clues to better understand the TRUE meaning of what is being said.  IMPROVED COMMUNICATION WITH OLDER ADULTS 🠶 Make sure the patient knows that you are talking 🠶 Face the patient, be sure that your mouth or face is visible to him/her 🠶 Speak clearly but do not exaggerate lip movement 🠶 DO NOT SHOUT 🠶 Speak a little more slowly 🠶 Check if the patient uses hearing aids, glasses or other adaptive equipment 🠶 Give the patient chance to ask questions 🠶 Keep communication short and to the point. Ask one question at a time  IMPROVED COMMUNICATION WITH OLDER ADULTS 🠶 Be aware of the person's health issues. 🠶 Allow the elderly person to reminisce, and to grieve. 🠶 Respect the elderly person’s background, knowledge, and values. 🠶 Be attentive to the environment in which you are communicating 🠶 Speak clearly and articulately, and make eye contact. 🠶 Adjust your volume appropriately 🠶 Use clear and precise questions and sentences 🠶 Employ visual aids, if possible. 🠶 Take it slow, be patient, and smile. Communication Dos and Don’ts When Working with Older Adults  COMMUNICATING WITH PERSONS WHO ARE HEARING IMPAIRED 🠶 Check for hearing aids and glasses 🠶 Reduce environmental noise 🠶 Get patient’s attention before speaking 🠶 Face patient with mouth visible 🠶 Do not chew gum 🠶 Speak at normal volume-DO NOT SHOUT 🠶 Rephrase rather than repeat if misunderstood 🠶 Keep your hands away from your face while talking. COMMUNICATING WITH PERSONS WHO ARE VISUALLY IMPAIRED 🠶 Check for the use of glasses of contact lenses 🠶 Identify yourself when you enter room and notify patient when to leave room 🠶 Do not rely on gestures or nonverbal communication 🠶 Use at least 14-point print 🠶 Use indirect lighting, avoiding glare 🠶 Allow the person to take your arm for guidance. 🠶 Ask how you may help: increasing the light, reading the menu, describing where things are, or in some other way. 🠶 Call out the person’s name before touching. Touching lets a person know that you are listening. COMMUNICATING WITH PERSONS WITH ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE 🠶 Always approach the person from the front, or within his/her line of vision. 🠶 Speak in a normal tone of voice. 🠶 Face the person as you talk to him/her. 🠶 Avoid a setting with a lot of sensory stimulation, like a big room where many people may be sitting or talking, a high-traffic area or a very noisy place. THANK YOU