| Popis: |
For residents with communication impairments (RWCI), access to person-centered, effectivecommunication is an integral component of quality of life (QOL) within the nursing home (NH)setting. However, limited research has been conducted regarding the status of NH staff-RWCIinteractions. Through the current study, we observed NH-staff interactions with nine RWCIsduring a typical day to determine the quality, quantity, and method of communication utilized bystaff. We also observed barriers to effective communication within the NH setting. While nurseassistants (NA) interacted most frequently with RWCIs, a variety of NH staff types alsointeracted with RWCIs throughout the day. All NH staff spent minimal time interacting withRWCIs, focused on daily care topics, and mainly utilized speech even though all RWCIsdisplayed cognitive-linguistic deficits. Lack of staff awareness of specific RWCIabilities/limitations and the presence of hearing loss in RWCIs were barriers to effectiveinteractions. The responsibility to interact with RWCI using a person-centered, effectivecommunication does not fall upon one staff type, rather all NH staff can engage with RWCIseffectively. The utility of providing staff education regarding a multiple methods communicationapproach is discussed as a means to encourage person-centered, effective NH staff-RWCIinteractions thereby improving RWCIs QOL. |
