The Importance of Communication in Health and Social Care Settings - Essay Example

Importance of Communication in Health and Social Care Settings Introduction Communication plays a major role in the health andsocial care environment. It is the duty of the health care professionals and the patient to ensure they understand each other so the patient can be accorded the best care possible. Provision of care to a patient may be close to impossible in case the health care professionals fail to state the needs of the patients clearly. Communication reduces the anxiety that patients develop during treatment. It also eliminates additional avenues for mistakes, and allows every party to understand what role they should play (Robinson and White 2011). This paper will explore Adrian Jones situation, a 47-year-old man experiencing breathing problems and needs oxygen most of the time. Living with his wife and two children, Adrian is admitted to hospital most of the times when his situation gets worse, and needs care workers support when at home. In this case, communication with Mr. Jones together with his wife is vital although he cannot talk for long periods. Discussion Reason and Importance of Communication in Health and Social Care Communication plays a vital role in health and social care environment since it helps to understand the care strategies that will meet the needs of the patient effectively. In case a health care professional fails to communicate with the patient, the care needs of the patient may change while their health deteriorates. As such, it is appropriate to communicate with the patient on a regular basis in order to understand his or her needs and provide the best care that will improve their health accordingly (Robinson and White 2011). When people speak, they manage to release their insecurities as well as bad energy to the world. Our fears diminish while our souls release the things that make us weak. When health care professionals interact with their patients, they help them to feed of the energy in them, allowing them to recover at a much faster pace. The power of love directed towards patients is the one that gives them the strength to fight for their health and recover at a much faster pace (National Library of Medicine 2015). Communication is essential in making it clear to the patient what one is doing around him or her. For instance, chronically ill people, such as Mr. Jones need to be informed about the purpose of the health professional’s visit in his house, particularly since they would be required to handle some sensitive matters, which he would not be comfortable with. As such, it is appropriate for the health care professionals to introduce themselves to the patient in order to make it possible for them to cooperate when being accorded care (Asha 2015). Importance of Determining Mr. Jones Communication Needs and Preferences Determining communication needs and preferences for Mr. Jones is essential in terms of helping to realize diagnostic accuracy. For instance, most diagnostic decisions are sourced from history-taking interviews. Studies have shown that visits between health care professionals and patients are denied sufficient time to give their story, mostly due to interruptions, which influence the accuracy of the diagnostic process. In this case, it is appropriate to determine the diagnostic needs of Mr. Jones for him to give accurate information regarding his illness for the health practitioners to make appropriate clinical decisions (Asha 2015). Determining the communication needs and preferences help to understand the extent through which the behaviour of a patient rhymes with the recommendations that are agreed upon by healthcare providers. As such, it is appropriate to become aware of the major problem that is brought forth by non-adherence to health care practices. Since a large number of patients fail to follow the advice that clinicians give them, it is appropriate for these health care professionals to device the effective ways of communicating with patients in order to understand their needs and preferences during the healing process (Community Care 2014). Comparing and Contrasting the Approaches used when Promoting Effective Communication To promote effective communication among chronically ill patients, such as Mr. Jones, it is appropriate to note that no one lives in a vacuum. Most of the people that health care providers encounter feel somehow alienated from their families as well as friends close to them. For instance, as Mr. Jones realized he attained the illness, he might have felt resentful, removed from friends and family, and angry. In this case, healthcare providers should devise ways in which they can promote effective communication with Mr. Jones and communicate with the outside world. They should create a companion scheme with the patient in order to establish a relationship bridge between them. They should also ensure that the communication tools they use to interact with him are effective and relevant to his condition (Asha 2015). Barriers to Effective Communication and Means of overcoming them A number of forces influence the ability of a patient to communicate in an effective manner. In the case of Mr. Jones, foreign language and cultural differences may bar effective communication. In this case, the region where Mr Jones resides may be multicultural. As such, in case care workers speak a language, which Mr. Jones is not conversant with, it might be difficult to provide care services in an effective manner. Furthermore, people from diverse cultures interpret non-verbal in distinct ways, some of which may be humorous. In this case, it is possible to misunderstand messages or fail to understand their meaning. In this case, it is appropriate to ensure that care providers are well equipped with the language of the patient and culture to provide him with adequate care (National Library of Medicine 2015). Emotional difficulties and distress pose challenges with regard to promoting effective communication in a health and social care setting. For instance, being depressed or experiencing other problems in the mind may influence the ability of an individual to communicate, since they affect the ways in which one sends or receives messages. In fact, when an individual is aggressive, upset, or angry, he may have trouble when communicating as other individuals may not understand them. In this case, the patient should be counselled and comforted in order to make him down while communicating with him (Community Care 2014). Health issues such as injuries or illness may make an individual to withdraw and feel that he does not wish to be in the company of other people or talk about their condition. Operations and medications can play a major role in this case since they may influence the ability of a person to concentrate, speak or adopt other non-verbal ways of communicating (Asha 2015). Conclusion Communication is vital in the case health and social care setting. While communicating with a patient, especially one who is chronically ill, such as Mr Jones, it is vital to understand the culture, mental condition of the patient, and health issues he is experiencing. This way, it would be possible to introduce communication strategies that would help the patient and care professionals to communicate effectively and help the patient to recover from the illness at a faster pace. References Asha 2015, Communication Development and Concerns, viewed 17 January 2015, . Community Care 2014, How social care staff can improve their communication, viewed 17 January 2015, . National Library of Medicine 2015, Communicating with patients, viewed 17 January 2015, . Robinson, T & White, G 2011, Improving Communication With Older Patients: Tips From the Literature, viewed 17 January 2015, . Read More