Communication Strategies to Improve Patient Safety: Case Study

This case study examines the critical role of communication in patient safety, focusing on a 60-year-old male, John, with type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and hypercholesterolemia. The analysis highlights the importance of effective communication between nurses and patients, emphasizing strategies to build therapeutic relationships and improve health outcomes. It discusses the components of communication, including the sender (nurse), message, channels, receiver (patient), and feedback. The study also explores treatment options for diabetes management, such as lifestyle modifications and medication, and emphasizes the nurse's role in promoting adherence and addressing psychological issues like stress and depression. Effective communication strategies, including flexibility, listening skills, confidentiality, respect, and empathy, are presented as essential for delivering superior healthcare and fostering a positive patient experience. The case underscores the need for healthcare professionals to prioritize communication to enhance patient safety and overall well-being. Desklib offers solved assignments and study resources for students.

Running Head: COMM.
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Communication
STUDENT

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Table of Contents
Part 1 the case study.............................................................................................................................2
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................2
Case study.........................................................................................................................................2
Communication and patient safety.....................................................................................................2
Part 2 Case study analysis.....................................................................................................................4
Treatment option...............................................................................................................................5
Effective communication strategies...................................................................................................7
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................9
References...........................................................................................................................................10

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1Part the case study
Introduction
Communication is the interchange of info among two individuals; a dispatcher and the
receiver. However, it does not end there. The response is a vital constituent as it encloses the
circle of the communication practice: It confirms how efficacious interaction is and approves
precisely what is inferred during the interchange of info (Riley, 2015). Effective
communication between nurse and patient can provide high-quality health care to the patient
and ensures patient safety. Communicating with the diseased persons is frequently
multifaceted; each patient typically has numerous healthcare workers helping in his or her
health care. Effective interaction or communication is essential to deliver the helpful
advantage for patients (O'hagan et al., 2014).
Case study
John is a 60 years old male living in Toronto with his wife. He has two sons who are
living in far from their home and visits once in a year. He complained about breathing issues
and increased heart rate. He has been diagnosed with diabetes type 2 and has a 1-year history
of hypertension and Hypercholesterolemia. He gained a lot of weight and not taking the
medicines prescribed to him as he set his mind that these drugs are not effective in his case
anymore. He also feels stressed and depressed most of the time. He has been prescribed with
Metformin, statin, and insulin for his sugar control.
Communication and patient safety
In health upkeep services, reduced communication among nurses and patient or other
health experts can be particularly perilous, results in not only to disbelief and bitterness
between cohorts but also to cause serious errors affecting patient retrieval time and even leads

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to decreased mortality. Effective communication at clinics and health systems subsidizes to
the growth and sustainability of safety culture (Dunsford, 2009). Miscommunication becomes
a regular and universal issue. Communication between nurses, patients, and physicians is
important to patient safety, health, and well-being. Since nurses are at the main pillar of
patient care, it is their accountability to enable dialog. As nurses undertake more multifaceted
roles and carefulness for older and additional culturally varied residents, they might need to
reinforce their communication skills. Without effective communication abilities, serious
errors or mistakes that might cost patients their lives can happen (Hua, Becker, Wurmser,
Bliss-Holtz, & Hedges, 2012).
Process of Communication
Components of communication:
 Dispatcher (nurse)
 Message or information
 Network by which information shared
 Receiver or patient (audience)
 Response or opinion (effect) (Kameg, Mitchell, Clochesy, Howard, & Suresky, 2009)
1. Sender
The nurses are (communicator) the sender of the message. Nurses formulate, encode
and convey the info which they want to interconnect. The influence of the message may
depend on nurse’s communication ability, social position (authority), understanding, attitude
and respect in the public (Wagner, Driscoll, Darlington, Flores, Kim, Melino, & Spetz, 2017).
2. Message

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A message is the data/desired comportment in physical practice which the nurses
transmit to the patient to receive, comprehend, assent and respond upon. The message can be
transmitted with the help of words, images or signs.
3. Channels of Communication
Channels can be:
Interactive (face to face communication) might be verbal or non-verbal, or Mass
broadcasting TV, radio, telephones, printed media etc (Kameg, et al., 2009).
4. Receiver
Who obtains messages from the dispatcher, decoding, understands the meaning and
providing feedback. These are mostly patients and physicians.
5. Feedback
It is the movement of information from the patient or health care provider to the
sender (nurses). It is basically the response of the patient, how they feel and how they obey
the nursing recommendations (Kameg, et al. 2017).
Part 2 Case study analysis
As mentioned in the case study the patient is suffering from diabetes type 2 and has a
long history of hypertension and hypercholesterolemia. Diabetes category 2, a type of
diabetes mellitus, is probably one of the well-known long-lasting diseases all over the world.
This kind of diabetes is noticeable by increased blood sugar that the body cannot decrease on
its own (Inzucchi, et al., 2015). High blood sugar is called hyperglycemia; hypoglycemia is
decreased blood sugar. Increased blood sugar in category 2 diabetes is because of a situation
called insulin resistance or confrontation (Umpierrez, & Pasquel, 2017).

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Causes
 Type 2 can be caused by:
 Increased body weight
 Consuming a lot of foodstuffs or drinks with high sugar and simple carbohydrates
 Non-natural sweeteners consumption
 The absence of physical activity
 Absence of exercise
 Stress and stress-related hormones
 Hereditary (DeFronzo, et al., 2015).
The signs and symptoms of this kind of diabetes are occasionally restrained. The major
indication is frequently being overweight. Other signs and symptoms comprise:
 Extra thirst
 Excessive urination
 Acquiring or losing weight inadvertently
 Dark skin below armpits, chin, or groin
 Exhaustion
 Uncommon odor to urine
 Blurry or Fuzzy vision (Diabetes Canada, 2019).
Treatment option
It is well known that diabetes cannot be treated, however, it can be managed with a
healthy lifestyle. This can be done by keeping the blood glucose level as close normal as
probable, reducing the risk factors that can worsen the situation and enhance the chances of

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developing more complication to the patient (Chen, Pei, Kuang, Chen, Chen, Li, & Yang,
2015). Regular assessment is also required in order to maintain the blood sugar level. Eating
healthy, remaining active, managing the weight, enhancing the emotional wellbeing to reduce
the stress, and doing exercise daily, are some healthy lifestyle related tasks that can enhance
the diabetic condition and help the person to live a healthy life (Johansen et al., 2017). As
discussed in the case study the John has gained weight and not exercises anymore, these
negative habits worsening the situation in his case. Therefore the healthy lifestyle can be a
vital strategy for that can be implemented in his life with the help of nurses (Chen, 2015).
Some of the medicinal treatments that can be implemented in John's diabetic
management plan are Oral medication; sitagliptin, linagliptin, and saxagliptin. Injectable
treatments consist of exenatide, exenatide, and liraglutide (bydureon). With the medicinal and
lifestyle good counseling is also needed to help the patient to follow the instructions, and taking
the medicine correctly (Maruthur et al., 2016). The nurses can b help the patient to follow the
recommended lifestyles in order to achieve the health goals already set for Mr. John. As
mentioned in the case study he lost his confidence and belief that the current medication can
help the patient accurately and he has been not seeming to be concern about his health anymore.
These types of health behaviors might worsen the condition. The nurses and improve and build
confidence and address the lifestyle-related issues (Ley, Ardisson Korat, Sun, Tobias, Zhang,
Qi, & Hu, 2016).
Nurses can play a key role in this case. They can help the patient to eat the healthy food
recommended for him, and they can implement the exercises that are advised for him. They can
also help the patient to take medicines on time. Nurses are not only able to help the patient in
physical improvements but also can help them improve psychologically (Coppola, Sasso,
Bagnasco, Giustina, & Gazzaruso, 2016). They can make them believe that diabetes can be

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controlled and he can live a longer life by following the suggested treatment and interventions.
Nurses spent more time with the patient than a physician or any other staff or team member.
Therefore they are the main pillar of the successful disease management of a patient (Ley, et al.,
2016).
To implement the recommended treatment method or approaches is important to build a
therapeutic association with the patient. As discussed in the case that Mr. John has been facing
diabetic associated problems for a longer time and has lost his belief in the medication so it can
be said that he also developing issues like stress and depression due to the disease. Therefore a
therapeutic relationship between the nurse and Mr. John might the nurse to implement the
treatment option. The therapeutic relationship is the relationship between the nurse and patient to
improve the health outcome and to counter the health target (Arnold, & Boggs, 2015).
Therapeutic relationship helps the nurses in patient’s assessment or vital signs. And easily get
the cooperation from the patient in order to receive the actual condition he is facing as is hard for
the patient to believe on the strange faces, therefore developing a therapeutic communication
can help both the parties to share the information associated with the treatment. To develop a
therapeutic relationship with the patient the first and important step is to apply the effective
communication strategies as communication is a vital part of therapeutic communications
(Ghaferi, & Dimick, 2016).
Effective communication strategies
Effective communication can be used as the strategy to develop the therapeutic
communication not only the patient but also with the physicians and other team associates in
order to deliver superior health upkeep to the clients or patients (Hammar, Holmström,
Skoglund, Meranius, & Sundler, 2017). This can be done by following some essential of
effective communication;

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Be flexible
A nurse needs to be flexible with the patient’s preferred time to meet. They should not
be disturbed when they in sleep. Before entering the room nurse should knock the door.
Listening skills
Listening skills are the essential component of effective communication to exchange the
information accurately and to understand the patient's condition more precisely. As mentioned in
the case study Mr. John has developed stress-related issues, he might be not comfortable to
discuss his emotional state to the new people, therefore by listening to them carefully can help
the nurses to make them believe that the nurses are concern about his health (Arnold, & Boggs,
2015).
Confidentiality
The information of the patients should remain confidential.
Respect
While providing health care to the older adults it is essential to provide proper respect.
As mentioned in the case study Mr. John is 60 years old and facing issues related to his sugar
level. The nurses should understand that older people might have a different opinion about a
topic or treatment options, therefore is important to acknowledge their views and preferences
accordingly with respect (Ghaferi, & Dimick, 2016).
Empathy to build efficient rapport empathy should show to older adults. In order to
provide health care successfully it is important that Mr. John must feel that the nurse
understand his situation and recognized his concerns. To link how they would sense given the
same circumstances when interacting with undesirable information. The honest and open

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interactions display that the nurse recognizes the patient's problem and actually care about his
situation (Arnold, & Boggs, 2015). The breakdown of communication can generate
counterproductive results or cause the treatment to fail completely. The nurse should treat
Mr. John with more respects and provide additional empathy. By addressing Mr. John as an
individual, the nurse can dissolve ageist stereotypes and generate favorable outcomes
(Hammar, Holmström, Skoglund, Meranius, & Sundler, 2017).
Conclusion
Communication is the exchange of the health associated information between the
nurses, patients, and health care team members. It helps the health provides to provide quality
health care to the diseased person. Mr. John was 60 years old diagnosed with diabetes type 2.
He has been prescribed with medicinal treatment; however, he lost his belief in the
medication and developed stress and depression. Therefore communication is the key element
that might help the patient positively. Effective communication is essential to develop a
therapeutic relationship. It is the key element in order to transfer health information
accurately. Most of the patents feel problematic while discussing their emotional situation
and actual condition with the strangers, here the nurses can develop effective communication
and make them believe that the health providers are actually concern about their health and
want to help them. Good communication and patient safety are directly correlated. Some of
the essential skills required for effective communication are showing empathy, respect,
listening, and being flexible. Mr. John can be benefitted positively with the help of effective
communication. His negative attitude towards the medication can be altered by
communicating with him effectively and helps him to regain his previous healthy daily
routine.

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References
Arnold, E. C., & Boggs, K. U. (2015). Interpersonal relationships: Professional
communication skills for nurses. Elsevier Health Sciences.
Chen, L., Pei, J. H., Kuang, J., Chen, H. M., Chen, Z., Li, Z. W., & Yang, H. Z. (2015).
Effect of lifestyle intervention in patients with type 2 diabetes: a meta-
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Coppola, A., Sasso, L., Bagnasco, A., Giustina, A., & Gazzaruso, C. (2016). The role of
patient education in the prevention and management of type 2 diabetes: an
overview. Endocrine, 53(1), 18-27.
DeFronzo, R. A., Ferrannini, E., Groop, L., Henry, R. R., Herman, W. H., Holst, J. J., &
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Hua, Y., Becker, F., Wurmser, T., Bliss-Holtz, J., & Hedges, C. (2012). Effects of nursing
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