Assessing Communication and Interaction in Health and Social Care

This report delves into the critical role of effective communication and interpersonal interaction within health and social care contexts. It begins by emphasizing the significance of communication in conveying information and emotions, highlighting its impact on patient care and the overall functionality of healthcare settings. The report assesses the importance of assertiveness, attentiveness, and active listening as key components of effective communication, referencing theories of communication like Argyles and Tuckman’s. It then discusses strategies to overcome communication barriers, such as reflective listening, understanding client preferences, staff training, and the use of technology. The report also explores factors that influence communication and interpersonal interactions, including the environment and the importance of attention. Furthermore, it includes reflections on practical applications of communication skills in both one-to-one and group interaction scenarios within a health and social care context, offering insights into the use of appropriate language, body language, and the importance of patience and empathy.

Running head: HEALTH AND SOCIAL 1
Healthy and Social
Name
Institution

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Health and Social
P1 Assess the role of effective communication and interpersonal interaction in health and
social care context
Communication is effective because it allows you to share information and emotions. In
health and social care settings, this is very important and is effective as it allows health
professionals to know how to best help their service user. If communication fails in a health and
social care setting everything can then fail (Koprowska, 2014). Hospitals, care homes, and
schools all rely on effective communication and depend on it to run successfully. Effective
communication can positively impact others leaving them feeling informed and respected but
ineffective communication can negatively impact people leaving them confused and uninformed.
Being assertive can also assist to facilitate your self-esteem and earn service users
respect. It is in position to help in management of stress among the health care professional as
the use of appropriate assertiveness in communication will not allow them to be disrespected.
However, healthcare workers should be careful to not come across aggressive as this can
completely destroy the possibility of effective communication.
Attentiveness is also important for professionals to employ in health and social care to
have effective communication. Attentiveness is paying close attention, being alert or observant
or showing care for the needs or desires of others. Of course, all of these skills are incredibly

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important to use to be able to communicate effectively in healthcare settings. Using all of these
skills will enable a service user to feel considered and cared about, enabling them to open up to a
healthcare professional and communicate any problems they may have. Therefore making it
easier to care for the service user.
Effective communication involves listening, this is not just hearing the person but it is
understanding them and listening to their non-verbal messages. Reflection and active listening
can be used to reassure the person you are listening to. If a service user feels listened to this will
have a very good overall impact on their well-being (pick et al., 2014). Listening is mentioned in
both Argyles and Tuckman’s theories of communication, this shows it is a recognized part of the
communication cycle. An example of listening in health and social care setting is in a counseling
session, the most important role of a counselor is to listen and to reflect what the service user is
saying to allow them to feel heard. Healthcare professionals may do this by keeping open body
language and nodding to show understanding.
Being aware and respecting others is also a big part of communication being effective. To
be able to do this you need to know what is going on in people's lives and what their
backgrounds are. An example of being aware and respecting others emotions is a GP delivering
bad news to a service user when doing this the doctor will have to use empathy to make sure they
communicate in the best way possible (Aulich, 2013). By maintaining eye contact with someone
you will make them feel important and valued- this will take place in stage 5 of Argyles theory
when you decode the message, in my opinion, the most important stage. If you do not respect
others emotions it will lead to ineffective communication.

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Giving and receiving feedback is very important for effective communication as it allows
others to improve and get better. However, the language used when giving feedback should be
chosen carefully in order to not cause offense and ensure the best results. Feedback would be
given in the 3rd stage of argyles theory –message sent stage. Harsh feedback has the ability to
lower self-esteem and therefore if used wrongly can result in ineffective communication.
M1. Assess the role of effective communication and interpersonal interaction in health and
social care with reference to theories of communication
The communication theories offer ways of analyzing the communications between
individuals and offer the care practitioners an insight of the things which work and the reason
why communication is a main factor in their duties (Arnold & Boggs, 2015). Operative
communications attempt to comprehend the opinion of the other person. However, decent
communication encompasses processes such as understanding, checking utilizing reflective or
even active listening.
P2. Discuss the theories of communication
Argyles theory
Michael argyles came with a theory on interpersonal interaction and also human
communication. He analyzed both verbal and nonverbal communications. He pointed out that
communication is one of the skills which stands as a two-way approach that comprises people
sending, receiving and giving feedback to verbal and nonverbal messages of each other (Argyles,
2013). He further indicated that the individual who receives the message will have to keep the
communication via giving a response to the typical message. The all process is repeated and
forms a cycle. It is also important to note that the rationale of the communication pattern to make

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it evident that effective communication is a two-way approach. However, individuals who are
working in the healthcare sector should be in the position to know the kind of message and also
how to reply it according to the individual they communicate. In regards to this particular theory,
individuals are in a position to get and improve better the effectiveness of their communication.
Also, they are in a position to get their interaction skills through adapting responses, either verbal
or nonverbal from other people.
Tuckman’s group formation theory
This theory is based on a diverse group of stages of group activity. This particular theory
means that group should go via the stages in order to be effective. These stages are, forming,
storming, norming, performing, proposing and building. In regards to forming, this is where the
members of the group come together and try to quiz themselves on the aims of the group. In the
first stages, persons tend to be nervous and sometimes confused in their encounter with other
people in the group. The stage offers a great chance for each member to indicate his or her
abilities to perform in the group. Storming is also another level which involves disagreement
within the group. Members’ communication should start in order to develop towards this
particular phase. However, this level is very important for the growth of the team.
The third level is norming where members of the group recognize and create the identity
of the group. In addition, members also start to share their respective plans. The fourth stage is
performing. At this level, members of the group start to get mature and also start to work
efficiently. They concentrate on the main objectives of the group. The proposing stage is when
the members of the group put forward strategies in a positive manner. The building stage is when

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the group develops ideas and proposals. Disagreeing stage is when members differ in their
opinions
Egans theory
In regards to this theory, Egan pointed out that there exist some basic skills which can
assist in developing a sense of caring presence when working with some individuals (Egan,
2013). The approach is utilized by workers and it assists the clients to have a trust in the care
provided and feel safe.
D1 Evaluate strategies used in health and social care environments to overcome barriers to
effective communication and interpersonal interactions
One of the ways which overcome barriers to effective communication is reflective
listening. The strategy can assist in keeping the cycle of communication on the move and also
indicating interests in things which the client can say. However, reflective listening is a better
option for developing the needs of self-esteem (Paternotte et al., 2015). Another way is looking
at the preferences of the client. It is better to look for ways which the client prefer to
communicate and this is the best way of overcoming communication barriers. It assists in
meeting the needs of the client. However, the other option is training. Staff needs to be trained on
how to identify and handle people who are in difficulty to communicate. By identifying and
being in a position to assist the clients will assist them to meet their demand hence avoiding
communication barriers. The use of technology also is one of the ways to reduce barriers to
communication. There are translators which can assist people whose language is not understood
by the client.

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P3 explain factors that may influence communication and interpersonal interactions in
Health and Social Care Environments
The environment is one of the factors which can impact communication and relational
interaction. For instance, if there is lots of music in a place of meeting, there will be no much to
concentrate due to distraction (Knapp et al., 2014). Another environmental factor is
temperatures. If the conditions of the place of interaction are not conducive for the parties
involved, then it will destruct the communication. Attention is another factor which has lots of
influence on communication and interpersonal interaction. If an individual is not listening to
what other party is saying, then there will be no effective communication at all
P4 “Explain strategies used in health and social care environments to overcome barriers to
effective communication” Effective communication
One of the ways which health care and social environments should device to
overwhelmed barriers to communication is defusing aggression. Aggression can be caused by
stress and frustration and this could bring a bad mood with the context (Moss, 2017). However,
staff should be trained accordingly in the healthcare setting and other places on skills to avoid
factors which can be barriers to effective communication. Hearing aids should be used by people
who are impaired so that they can get the message from the rest of the people. This will assist
them from being secluded from information (Moss, 2017). The voice-activated software is the
best app which can avoid barriers to communication by enabling people to use voice commands
to get their phones and computers do tasks. They can even use them to write text messages
P5. Participate in a one-to-one interaction in a health and social care context

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By participating in one on one interaction, I used stern voice and tone in order pass and
get a message to my clients. I also used appropriate language in my discourse. I varied my
language to avoid boredom. I will also make sure that my language is not at any state patronizing
so that it may not make my client uncomfortable. I also ensured that I clarify and repeat issues
which are not clear to my client. In addition, listening and responding will form a good strategy
in one on one interaction. My client will respond and I will be in a position to know if he or she
understands the information I provided. The client can also ask some questions which she finds
she needs clarification and it will be my high time to listen and respond accordingly.
Participate in a group interaction in a health and social care context
I interacted with a group of people with special needs and I realized that participating in
group interaction is one of the greatest ways to meet people with various backgrounds. Here,
there are diverse people with different views about their conditions and they want to express
using any language possible (Berger, 2014). It involves lots of patience as their stories might
need lots of sympathies. It also involves lengthy discussions as lots of questions and
clarifications are tackled. Throughout the group presentation, I tried very hard to maintain the
appropriate effective interpersonal skills, I feel that I achieved this. However, again my nerves
did affect my interpersonal skills.
I maintained open body language throughout by always facing the audience and ensuring
I didn't have my arms crossed. I did find it quite hard to make eye contact with members of the
audience at the beginning of the interaction, but I did understand the importance of eye contact
so I tried my best to make eye contact with the audience towards the end of the interaction to
show that I was interested in them and wanted them to listen to what I had to say (Berger, 2014).

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Overall I feel that my interaction skills were effective throughout the presentation as I enabled
the audience to feel relaxed whilst listening to me by seeming relaxed. By using more hand
gestures and eye contact I could have improved the effectiveness of my interpersonal skills.
M3 – assess communication and interpersonal skills in relation to each interaction.
I found that interacting with people with special needs was a challenging encounter
because their speech was difficult to comprehend thus creating misunderstanding. I was a bit
afraid that as time goes I was able to cope with them. I used verbal and nonverbal
communication and also I make sure that my is voice raised a bit (Berger, 2014). In addition, I
could speak slowly and at time pause to ensure they understand what I was addressing.
D2 evaluate factors that influenced the effectiveness of each interaction.
Noise
The noise was one of a negative factor which influenced the effectiveness of each
interaction (O'Halloran et al., 2015). Parties made noises and I was not able to pass my message
well. Also, other parties were uncomfortable because they could not get me.
Language
As my clients were adults I use a language which was easy for them to cope with what I
was presenting (O'Halloran et al., 2015). I did not use complex words because they could make
them unable to connect what I was saying.
Time

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This was a positive factor in my interaction. I used only one hour to pass my message
and this offered a great time for questions and other clarifications (O'Halloran et al., 2015).
Clients were happy and they enjoyed the presentation a lot
References
Argyle, M. (2013). Bodily communication. Routledge.
Aulich, T. (2013). The role of effective communication in the construction Industry: a guide for
education and health clients. Construction Economics and Building, 13(4), 92-101.
Berger, J. (2014). Word of mouth and interpersonal communication: A review and directions for
future research. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 24(4), 586-607.
Egan, G. (2013). 21 The communication skills of therapeutic dialogue. Social Work: A Reader,
153.
Knapp, M. L., Vangelisti, A. L., & Caughlin, J. P. (2014). Interpersonal communication &
human
Koprowska, J. (2014). Communication and interpersonal skills in social work. Learning Matters.
Moss, B. (2017). Communication skills in health and social care. Sage.
O'Halloran, R., Worrall, L., & Hickson, L. (2015). Environmental factors that influence
communication between patients and their healthcare providers in acute hospital stroke
units: an observational study. International journal of language & communication
disorders, 1-18.

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Paternotte, E., van Dulmen, S., van der Lee, N., Scherpbier, A. J., & Scheele, F. (2015). Factors
influencing intercultural doctor–patient communication: A realist review. Patient
education and counseling, 98(4), 420-445.
Pick, A., Gilbert, K., & McCaul, J. (2014). The role of effective communication in achieving
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