BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

WHAT ARE THE BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION?

  1. Age-related Changes

  2. Disease and disability

  3. Environmental factors

AGE RELATED CHANGES

  1. General loss of hearing

  2. Changes Vision

  3. Reduced ability to smell and taste - enhancement of food flavor may make eating more enjoyable. Enhanced flavorings do not need to be with spices and usually do not cause stomach irritation.

  4. Reduced ability to feel touch/ feel hot, cold, and pain in peripheral neuropathy due to Diabetes. SAFETY IS THE PRIORITY

  5. Reduced ability to speak

DISEASES AND DISABILITY

  • Dysarthria

  • Oral health problems example; loss of teeth, cleft lip or palate

  • Lung diseases example; emphysema, asthma, COPD

  • Aphasia: Expressive/ receptive/ brain injury/ stroke/ head trauma

  • Dementia example: Alzheimers/ parkinsons

  • Multiple factors example; cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis

ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

  1. Physical Environment

    • Health care related facilities like nursing homes

    • Noise, confusion, completing demands, inadequate lighting, population that are not conducive to social interactions

  2. Social Environment

    • Role expectations in health care setting, “task orientation” of staff, beliefs that “talking is not working”, and fears of being viewed as lazy for taling with older adults, have a negative impact on social care

  3. Family culture

    • Unwritten organizational policies that emphasize physical tasks vs. psychosocial care may be communicated “top-down” by supervisors.

HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH PATIENT WITH VISION LOSS

  1. Knock on - the door before entering and identify yourself upon entering

  2. Position - Position yourself in good light and face the resident when speaking

  3. Greet - Greet the resident by their preferred name using touch, such as pat on the arm or holding a hand as appropriate

  4. Talk- Talk with the resident while giving care while giving s step by step explanation as appropriate

  5. Explain- explain what the resident is to do

  6. Listen- listen attentively and clarify the resident’s understanding as appropriate

  7. Inform- inform the resident before leaving the room

  8. Use- use courtesy when communicating.

HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH PATIENT WITH SPEECH PROBLEM

  1. Greet the resident by their preferred name

  2. Identify yourself to the resident

  3. Talk with the resident while giving care

  4. Give the resident adequate time to respond and listen attentively.

  5. Encourage and assist the resident with the use of assistive devices for communication such as picture boards or word boards

  6. Clarify the resident’s understanding as appropriate

  7. Use courtesy when communicating

  8. Inform the resident before leaving the room

HOW TO COMMUNICATE WITH PATIENT WITH HEARING LOSS

1. Alert the resident to your presence by approaching from

the front or side.

2. Position yourself in good light and face the resident

when speaking

3. Greet the resident by their preferred name

4. Identify yourself to the resident

5. Talk with the resident while giving care

6. Speak in lower pitch voice at a normal or slightly

increased loudness; avoid shouting

7. Listen attentively and clarify the resident’s understanding

as appropriate

8. Use courtesy when communicating

9. Inform the resident before leaving the room