Late in life, elderly adults begin to experience changes in their communications skills. Physical disability often means they must move to the nursing home, too. Part of the onset of disability is the deterioration of hearing and vision. Therefore, it becomes necessary for nursing home staff and visitors to learn to communicate compassionately and effectively with elderly and disabled residents.
Some elderly adults may not have exercised communication skills recently due to diminished contact with relatives, friends, community activities, and the working world. Furthermore, age-associated disability and their treatments - i.e. medications - can seriously limit communication skills among the elderly and disabled. Whether minor or serious, these changes in basic communication skills pose a potential obstacle for optimal relationships with nursing home providers. If compassion and understanding are not applied by the nursing home community, then the opportunity to maintain the elder's self-esteem and satisfying communication decline.
Tips for Good Communication in the Nursing Home
The following recommendations will improve communication with the elderly, disabled and hearing impaired; not only in the nursing home, but in any setting:
Body language is very important. Try to position yourself at eye level with a cheerful countenance. If the elderly resident is upset or confused, try to respond to the emotion that you see. Let them see in your eyes and hear it in your voice that you really care, but do not baby them.
Do not assume that a resident has certain disabilities such as impaired hearing or loss of comprehension skills. Approach them as if there are no disabilities and make adjustments as you see the need.
Once the elderly and disabled are able to trust you, they love a gentle hug or touch on the shoulder. They often times will like to hold your hand.
If a resident begins to talk about things unrelated to the conversation, don't assume they don't know what's going on. It is often quite effective and compassionate to walk for a while in their reality to help lead them to our reality.
Allow the elderly person time to comprehend what you are saying. If need be, rephrase your sentence or question to help them understand. Do not allow an elderly or disabled person to struggle too long for words. Help them or politely excuse them from having to answer your questions. In the early stages of the disability, they are usually very sensitive, so avoid making them feel inadequate.
Try to reduce background noises as they tend to distract and cause confusion. Do not complain or yell or state that the facility is short staffed. An elderly resident may take this as a sign not to disturb nursing home workers, and therefore, go without needed assistance. It may make them afraid, and they may lose confidence in your compassion and caregiving ability.
Do not hold conversations with others in close proximity to the resident as if he or she is not there. Hearing impairment and difficulties in understanding all that is being said could make them think that you are talking about them.
Many good, compassionate messages and prayers are in the old hymns and other music. Many elderly and disabled nursing home residents, that cannot talk, can still sing. If you like to sing, try singing with a resident! This is a universal expression of compassionate communication.
Finally, good common sense tells us to take a moment for ourselves when we are stressed and frustrated. Take a short break, or ask someone to help you if you are becoming frustrated with a patient and you feel you may lose control. Nursing home work is difficult, and it is important to be compassionate with yourself, too.
The Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
1. Write vs. Talk - When an issue arises that requires your attention you can get really good results by putting your concerns in writing. A written letter hand delivered to the administrator requesting resolution and or a meeting is a powerful communication tool. A letter generally requires a written response as a minimum which means the resolution will be well thought out and thorough. Along the same lines it is a good idea for you to understand what the grievance policy is for the community and use as needed. 2. E-mail Exchanges - By developing an e-mail relationship with the administrator you get a deeper level of access and increased frequency of communication. My only caution is to use with restraint. 3. Company Policy vs. Licensing Regulation - At times family members will request things the facility refuses to do. Pay attention to the reasons given. If they say it's against "company policy" you may have some flexibility. However if your request is a violation of "licensing regulations" there may not be much that can be done.
4. The Good and the Bad - There are few things in life that are all good or all bad and senior care communities are no exception. A great way to ensure your concerns are taken seriously is to make sure you communicate the things that the community is doing well from time to time. When a family member only communicates negativity it is hard to take their concerns seriously over time. Try and balance your comments to be more effective.
These tips are great ways to improve the effectiveness of your communication with any given long term care community