Report: Effective Communication with Elderly People in Healthcare

This report provides a comprehensive overview of effective communication with elderly individuals, addressing the challenges and strategies within healthcare contexts. It begins by identifying communication barriers such as the attitudes of elderly individuals and healthcare providers, and potential hearing impairments. The main body then outlines crucial communication skills, including the use of short, clear sentences and maintaining eye contact. The report also highlights various resources that can aid in communication, such as online videos, articles, journals, and blogs. Ultimately, the report emphasizes the importance of effective communication for enhancing the well-being of elderly patients and improving the overall healthcare experience. This report is available on Desklib, a platform offering AI-powered study tools for students.

Communicating with Elderly

TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
Communication barriers while dealing with elderly people.......................................................3
Understanding of communication skills necessary for effectively communicating with elderly
people..........................................................................................................................................4
Various resources required for assisting in communication.......................................................4
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6

INTRODUCTION
Communication is defined as sharing of the information and data from the sender to the
receiver in the same intended manner as wanted by the sender. Without communication no other
work can be done and due to this it is very essential that effective communication need to be
undertaken. with regards to the elderly group it is necessary that effective communication and in
clear and concise manner is being undertaken. this is because when the elderly people group will
not understand the things from others then this might affect the working of the person to a great
extent. thus, the current report will outline the barriers for communication with elderly people. In
addition to this the communication skill required for effective communication with elderly
people will be outlined along with communication resources.
MAIN BODY
Communication barriers while dealing with elderly people
There are many different barriers which can affect the communication with the elderly
people. These barriers might affect the working efficiency of the worker and there will not be
proper working and care of elder people. These barriers are as follows-
The first and foremost barrier is the attitude of the elder people and their thinking
capability. Many a times the elder patients think that they know everything but in actual they
might not be having proper knowledge of all the latest things (Chevalier-Cottin and et.al., 2020).
But then also within their attitude there is a feeling among the elder people that they know each
and everything better than others.
Along with this another barrier being faced while communicating with the elder people is
that their pitch and hearing capacity may have declined. This is pertaining to the fact that many a
times elder people are not capable of listening effectively and this can affect the efficiency of the
communication process to a great extent.
Moreover, the attitude barrier can be from the side of the health care provider or the
practitioner as well. this is because of the reason that many a times there is attitude problem from
side of practitioner as well as they think that elder people are not good and they will not listen to
their statements (Achterberg, Kok and Salentijn, 2021). This preconception of the health care
provider makes it difficult for them to deal and communicate with elder people and patients.

Understanding of communication skills necessary for effectively communicating with elderly
people
For the better treatment to the elder people it is very necessary that proper
communication skills are being used by the practitioner. This is very crucial for the reason that
when the communication will be done in proper manner then this will be improving the working
of practitioner and the elderly patient as well (Minarti and Heriyanto, 2022). the different
communication skills necessary for the effective communication with elderly people are as
follows-
The first and foremost skills for the practitioner is that they must frame small and short
sentences so that they are easily understandable by the elder person in better and effective
manner.
Along with this another skill involves using a very clear and simple language for the
development of the messages. This is very necessary because when the message will be
constructed by using simple words and language then this will be improving the efficiency of the
communication and both parties will understand requirement of each and every person.
Moreover, another skill required for the effective communication with the elder people is
to have proper eye contact with the person with whom the communication is taking place
(Improving Communication with Older Patients: Tips from the Literature, 2022). This is very
necessary for the reason that in case eye contact will not be made then practitioner will not be in
position to understand whether the elder people have understood the message completely or not.
Various resources required for assisting in communication
Along with the good communication skills, there is requirement for the effective
communication resources as well. these communication resources will help the person to make
the communication more effective with the elder people and make them understand in proper and
effective manner. These different resources relating to communication with elderly people are as
follows-
The first resources for improving communication with the elderly people is to comply
with the online videos and other tutorials being present (Kobayashi and et.al., 2020). This is very
necessary for the reason that these online platform and learning will provide a wider base for the
making of communication in better and effective manner.

Along with this another resource required for the effective communication is different
types of books, articles and journals and other published data. This is very necessary for the
reason that when the use of these secondary sources will be used then this will be assisting in
improving communication in better manner.
Further the use of blogs relating to communication will also be assistive in improving the
efficiency of the capability to communicate. This is very necessary for the reason that when the
person will be going through the different blogs relating to communication and ways to improve
it will definitely help person improve communication capability.
Hence, with this it can be evaluated that use of different resources will be undertaken for
improvement of communication then the capability of the person will be increased (Lazris and
Rifkin, 2021). Hence, they will be in position to communicate effectively with elder people.
CONCLUSION
In the end from the above report it can be inferred that the use of effective
communication is very necessary for the reason that it will result in effective communication.
Hence, this report outlined that there are different barriers which can hamper the communication
like attitude of health care practitioner, elder people and many other reasons. Along with this it
was also analysed that there are certain skills necessary for the effective communication with
elder people and this involves making short message, use of clear and concise words and many
others. At the end the different resources for communication were highlighted like the online
blogs, books, journal and others.

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Achterberg, I., Kok, W., & Salentijn, C. (2021). ‘Snoezelen’: A new way of communicating with
the severely demented elderly. In Care-giving in Dementia (pp. 119-126). Routledge.
Chevalier-Cottin, E. P., Ashbaugh, H., Brooke, N., Gavazzi, G., Santillana, M., Burlet, N., & Tin
Tin Htar, M. (2020). Communicating benefits from vaccines beyond preventing infectious
diseases. Infectious Diseases and Therapy. 9(3). 467-480.
Kobayashi, T., Jung, S. M., Linton, N. M., Kinoshita, R., Hayashi, K., Miyama, T., ... &
Nishiura, H. (2020). Communicating the risk of death from novel coronavirus disease
(COVID-19). Journal of clinical medicine. 9(2). 580.
Lazris, A., & Rifkin, E. (2021). Communicating About the Adverse Effects of the Cure.
In Utilizing Effective Risk Communication in COVID-19 (pp. 91-102). Springer, Cham.
Minarti, M., & Heriyanto, B. (2022). Model of Guidance: Effective Communication with the
Elderly for Empowering Elderly Caregivers in Nursing Homes in Indonesia. Frontiers in
Community Service and Empowerment. 1(2).
Online
Improving Communication with Older Patients: Tips from the Literature. 2022. [Online].
Available through: < https://www.aafp.org/pubs/fpm/issues/2006/0900/p73.html>