Introduction
Effective communication has increasingly become essential for the hospital and social care settings where interaction between nurses and patients constantly occurs. Good communication ensures effective expression and explanation of problems pertaining to the diagnosis of diseases and treatment algorithms. Currently, most patients complain of being ignored by nurses who deliver care services to them. In some cases, communication barriers are exhibited in hospitals. This situation results in a reduction of quality services. Effective communication in health setups should embrace a clear and unique approach with a view of improving the experience of patients. Such methodologies must be humanistic, cognitive, and constantly psychoanalytical. The development of sound verbal and non-verbal cues is paramount to effective relay of information to both staff and patients. The essay presents an analysis of communication in health and social care organisations by elaborating the theories of communication. It also provides a scenario of poor communication skills in a health organisation with a view of examining the use of Information Technology to promote the interactions amongst nurses and patients.
Application of Theories in Health and Social Care Settings
Various communication approaches that are adopted in healthcare settings include the cognitive, social, psychoanalytic, behaviourist, and humanistic theories among others (Parrott & Madoc-Jones 2008). Social theories such as psychoanalytic theory elaborate various social phenomena that exist within a particular thought. Most of the social theorists elaborate certain frameworks to explain events that occur in care settings (Parrott & Madoc-Jones 2008). The theory is primarily used in the treatment of patients with neurological problems such as patients who suffer from autism and other disorders of the brain because it addresses both psychological and cognitive aspects of human beings (Miles & Mezzich 2011). The cognitive dissonance theory elaborates communication by considering conflicts that are caused due to the handling of two contradicting attitudes. The theory postulates that a person ought to have a balance between various beliefs to remain in a peaceful state (Miles & Mezzich 2011).
Case Study: Application of Theories to Jessie Lee’s Case
A major problem that is exhibited in the case study is the communication barriers that exist between Jesse and the healthcare practitioners. Another issue that is seen is the rudeness of the doctor towards the patient with respect to the neglect of duty. A humanistic social theory can be used to address the case of Jessie Lee effectively. This theory seeks to ensure that individuals are treated with dignity and respect. For instance, the nurse is required to be polite towards helping Jesse fill the form. The doctor should also have used the humanistic theory by incorporating non-verbal cues since he did not understand the patient’s message well. Instead, the doctor rudely revealed to Jesse that he did not fathom what she meant (Hughes, Bamford, & May 2008). Lastly, a caregiver should apply the psychoanalytic theory to understand the patients’ needs efficiently. The nurses and doctors in Jesse’s case should be retrained in the ethics of nursing and communication skills that are required in hospital setups. They need to adopt communication approaches that encompass humanistic, cognitive, behavioural, and social aspects by following the tenets of the psychoanalytic theory (Hughes, Bamford, & May 2008).
Shannon’s model of effective communication is designed to eliminate various factors that affect the smooth flow of information from the sender to receiver. Concepts that are involved in the communication process using the model include the source, transmitter, noise, channels, message, receiver, channel, and destination of the information. Encoding and decoding of the information form an integral part of the whole process (Holm 2006).
Use of Communication Skills in Health and Social Care Setting
According to Holm (2006), communication skills are paramount to efficient time management by nurse practitioners. Gaps that can exist between the patients and nurses due to communication barriers are limited at all cost (Holm 2006). Verbal communication cues that are used in communication processes include efficiency tailoring of ideas or instructions to suit the situations of either the patients or co-workers. Nurses and doctors must ensure that they use clear and simple language that can be understood by their clients. Aspects such as pronunciation should be emphasised to favour the understanding of instructions issued to the patients. Presence and development of proper listening skills should be a norm amongst the doctors and nurses to ensure that communication between them and the patients is clear and precise (Holm 2006).
Non-verbal communication skills that should be embraced include the proper usage of body language, facial expressions, tonal voices, pictures, icons, and symbols among others (Holm 2006). Various examples of communication skills that are used in the hospital setups include the ability to explain a diagnosis, condition, and treatment of a patient’s condition. Functions such as counselling, explanation of various medications, and provision of education on diets among others require apt communication with the patient, family members, and other healthcare professionals (Holm 2006). In the case study, ineffective communication is evident where the practitioners fail to provide a clear explanation of the diagnosis and Jesse’s health condition. Both the doctor and nurse did not speak to Jessie politely. Technology is also an aspect that has been recently embraced by the healthcare setups to ensure effective communication and training the staff in the appropriate handling of patients (Sarangi 2010).
I have used various communication skills such as listening, explanation of diagnoses, and clear understanding of language efficiently. This situation helped me ensure the development of rapport with a patient who was diagnosed with dementia. The patient was shy; hence, socialising with her was a hard. The patient preferred remaining in the room most of the time. To manage the situation, I maintained constant communication with a view of changing her perceptions of interacting with other people.
Methods of dealing with Inappropriate Interpersonal Communication Skills
Sharing information amongst two or more people is termed an interpersonal process. The people involve in various courses of relaying information where a message is sent to a receiver. Various inappropriate interpersonal communication skills that are commonly noted in the health and social care facilities include speaking in a rude and loud tone, ignoring patients, or failure to pay close attention to what the information they providing regarding their ailments. In other cases, the caregivers use verbal and non-verbal techniques inappropriately.
The case study in this context has variously revealed the poor usage of verbal communication. For instance, the nurses addressed Jessie screaming loudly and asked where she was heading. The incident interfered with the sessions that were being carried out in other departments. At some point, the situation forced the consultant to ask about what was happening. The information that is shared between a patient and a doctor or nurse should be confidential. Contrarily, the practice in the case healthcare facility reveals disclosure of information by the caregivers. Other people in the waiting bay among other places heard their conversation. There is also a problem in the usage of non-verbal techniques such as the use of gestures. As a result, Jesse fails to understand the doctor’s message when she is required to undergo an examination.
Humanistic theory promotes the understanding of diverse personalities that exist within the human population. The behaviourist theory should also be applied to ensure effective communication among the caregivers and patients. An application of relevant communication theories is paramount to solving Jesse’s medical condition. Therefore, there is a need to establish training programs that are aimed at educating the clinical staff on communication skills with a view of increasing their competency in the social and heathcare settings.
Analysis of Strategies to Support Users in Social and Heathcare Setups
Proper adoption and implementation of objectives and strategies to ensure effective provision of services to patients is essential in the heathcare systems (Krauss & Fussell 2014). Effective communication through the appropriate application of verbal and non-verbal techniques ensures that the healthcare professionals understand the laid strategies and objectives for quality service delivery. Proper training in communication techniques should also be extended to the staff (Krauss and Fussell 2014). There is a need to provide various assistances to diverse patient conditions within the social and heathcare settings. For instance, patients who have sight problems should be assisted to solicit crucial information about their conditions by providing them with gadgets such as reading lenses. Similarly, the blind patients should be provided with braille to enhance their written communication. Patients who suffer from autism should also be assisted by picture exchange communication systems among others. This set of circumstances significantly boosts communication between the patients and caregivers (Hughes, Bamford, & May 2008).
Factors influencing Communication Processes in Health and Social Care Centres
The communication process involves various steps to ensure that successful communication is realised. The first phase involves the encoding of information whereby the sender develops a message (Holm 2006). The second step involves the identification of an appropriate channel to convey the information to the receiver. The receiver finally interprets the encoded information through a decoding process. This situation evokes a reaction that is based on the provided information. Therefore, the sender must ensure that barriers to communication such as noises among others are avoided to minimise cases of interference (Holm 2006).
The healthcare industry currently employs practitioners from diverse cultural backgrounds. Similarly, the patients come from varying geographical and cultural settings. As a result, embracing cross-cultural relations is essential to ensuring efficient communication in social and heathcare institutions (Hughes, Bamford, & May 2008). By embracing such determining factors such as gender, beliefs, social class, and education among others together with the unique processes of diagnosing and treating varying illness while emphasising on confidentiality, professionals can guarantee quality delivery of services to patients (Sarangi 2010).
In the context of the case study, it is depicted that the poor application of communication techniques made Jessie to cry, a situation that brought about a feeling of being treated as less fortunate. The relationship between the doctor and Jessie is broken due to the application of inefficient communication techniques. There is also a difference in terms of individualism and collectivism in the scenario (Banks 2008). Respect for Jessie’s values, culture, and background should have been a priority in handling her case. This approach to patients can enhance quick recovery and psychological contentment (Banks 2008).
Communication Process Improvement in Health and Social Care through Legislation, Charters, and Codes Practice
The legislations, charters, and codes ensure improved communication systems by promoting equality in the provision of health and social care services. The laws are grounded on the equality principle that does not embrace discrimination of patients, workers, and/or any person in the heathcare system. Such regulations bring together factors such as sex and racial relations among others (Ife 2012). According to Beresford, Croft, and Adshead (2008), effective communication in the healthcare and social sectors is sufficiently provided if robust strategies that encompass confidentiality are adopted. For instance, the Data Protection Act is a legislation enacted in the health and social care systems to ensure the security of patients’ personal information. Only authorised and responsible professionals access such information when it is necessary. Ife (2012) reveals that the Data Protection Act is aimed at ensuring good practices in the heathcare institutions. This state of play further safeguards the rights of patients.
Well-stipulated codes of practice and ethics promote effective communication due to the enhancement of confidentiality of patient information. For instance, the availability of the internet to access patients’ information is controlled by the means of codes in numerous modern healthcare institutions (Beresford, Croft, & Adshead 2008). The NHS Code of Practice has also set out the recommended standards of practice that guide the confidentiality and consent of patients in the event of the use of their health records. In addition, the mental Capacity Acts of 1983 and 2007 ensure that people with mental disabilities are empowered to make their decisions about their care and treatments (Ife 2012).
Effectiveness of Organisational Systems and Policies in promotion of Good Communication Practices
Most healthcare organisations currently implement the use of information technology systems. Various methods of communication such as emailing and written information mechanisms have become more common due to the advancement of communication technology (Burks & Kobus 2012). Jesse’s case portrays the insufficient use of policies and systems to ensure effective communication. The nurse approaches Jesse poorly before staring at her as she fills the clinical form. Coming from a Chinese origin, the patient has a poor command of the English language; hence, her communication with the nurse was ineffective. The hospital setup was not well planned to indicate various rooms such as lavatories and the reception among others. In addition, the case reveals that the hospital lacked modern ways of keeping records since Jessie was filling the clinical form manually. Good computerisation and networking systems in a health setup ensures that records are stored strategically with a view of simplifying searching information on diagnoses. It also ensures safety and overall quality care of patients (Hughes, Bamford, & May 2008).
Improving the Communication Process in the Health and Social Care Settings
Day-to-day health records pertaining to the diagnosis and treatment of patients should be stored in the RiO systems. Such coordination ensures an easier and safer way of retrieving and updating the information at any given moment (Parrott & Madoc-Jones 2008). Training of the lower level staff and the management teams at the unit levels in all-encompassing communication skills is paramount to the promotion of service delivery to patients irrespective of their cultural, social, and linguistic backgrounds. This strategy alleviated challenges that arise from the language barrier and discrimination among other factors (Sarangi 2010). The professional staffs should clearly understand the duties, policies and procedures of job, gathering, storing, evaluation, and retrieval of information required for diagnosis and treatment (Parrott & Madoc-Jones 2008).
Access and the Use of Standard Communication Technology (ICT) in Health and Social Care
There is currently an increased use of software systems in the health and social setups to ensure that writings, reports, printings, storages, and retrieval of crucial patient information are achieved (Parrott & Madoc-Jones 2008). For instance, I have been using Microsoft Excel in the collation of various prescriptions of medications to patients. The availability and ease of use of email systems have also enabled the successful transmission of the information about services to the manager. Apparently, retrieval and analysis of patient information concerning their daily progress and activities of the department has become increasingly easier (Parrott & Madoc-Jones 2008). The following figure represents an MS Excel window showing a workbook with a number of worksheets that can be used to enter patient data.
Benefits of ICT in health and social care setups
At the outset, the ease of retrieving information from a computer-based record is an added advantage to healthcare practitioners. The information can be transmitted to various departments that require it for further activities among others (Parrott & Madoc-Jones 2008). ICT has also ensured effective training of personnel in the health and social care systems. Various software packages that ensure effective recordkeeping and budgeting in the healthcare systems include word-processing, spreadsheets, internet, Microsoft Access, and Ms PowerPoint among others (Parrott & Madoc-Jones 2008). This situation has led to improved retrieval and analysis of patient information in a timely manner with a view of fostering patient-caregiver relationships (Parrott & Madoc-Jones 2008).
Legal Considerations in the use of ICT in Health and Social Care
Legal considerations in the usage of ICT in the heathcare systems have ensured privacy and confidentiality in the relay of information about the conditions of patients. The Data Protection Act provides restrictions to the access and use of personal information such as medication records, treatment history, and financial status of patients (Katsikas 2000). Furthermore, the Personal Files Act of 1987 elaborates the general considerations concerning accessibility of patient data. The Health and Safety Act of 1974 requires that health and social care centres should provide safe working conditions. The law further elaborates that employers should train their employees in the essential safety precautions in the health setups among other legislations (Katsikas 2000).
Conclusion
The essay has provided a review of communication techniques and their effective implementations by analysing a case study, personal experience, legal issues, and regulations stipulated in the healthcare and social care systems. It has also examined various theories of communication that should be adopted by healthcare institutions. The role of ICT in enhancing effective communication in health and social setups is highly regarded since it underpins confidentiality, retrieval, and analysis of patient information with a view of offering timely remedies to health issues.
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