Health Communication: Improve Health Literacy & Therapeutic Relationships - Essay Sample

Introduction

Health Communication involves the passing of promotional health information from one party to another, such as between the patient and doctor, in public health campaigns, and health education. The purpose of disseminating health info is to ensure the improvement of health literacy (Ha & Longnecker, 2010). Effective caregiver-patient communication is a vital clinical function in the development of a therapeutic caregiver-patient relationship which is deemed art and heart of medicine. This communication is essential in delivering high-quality healthcare. The many complaints due to dissatisfaction that arise in the healthcare sector are due to the failure of the caregiver-patient relationship. This paper thoroughly discusses the importance of patient-caregiver communication, challenges, and solutions to improve patient satisfaction, increase the adherence to the treatments that have been recommended, all of which leads to better health outcomes.

Patients and their caregivers are required to communicate openly through ensuring all the parties are active participants in the medical care process. Therefore, patients are encouraged to be part of their treatment and not to leave all the decisions to be made by the healthcare giver. This helps the patient be able to choose the approach that best works for him or her. The patients can improve their relationship with the caregiver if they view their relationship as a partnership that also involves their family members (Ha & Longnecker, 2010). The responsibility for the development of excellent communication falls on the hands of the patients, family members, and caregivers.

Strategies for Effective Patient-Caregiver Communication

Plan for the Caregiver

As a caregiver, I have encountered some problems in the line of duty as sometimes there are challenges that hinder proper Communication with the patients, especially language barrier due to the diversity of the American Society. This calls for the valuation of the recognition of the caregiver by the patients and their families for the compassionate care provided by the healthcare personnel. The communication and interpersonal skills of the caregiver comprise of the ability to gather the information that facilitates accurate diagnosis, decision making, giving therapeutic instructions, and establishing a caring atmosphere and relationships with the patients. These core clinical skills are expected in every caregiver in the practice of medicine to achieve the ultimate goal of achieving patient satisfaction and best clinical outcome, both of which are essential in the delivery of healthcare. Communication skills in isolation are not sufficient in creating and sustaining a successful therapeutic caregiver-patient relationship that consists of the shared perceptions as well as feelings regarding the nature of the problem, psychosocial support, and the goals of treatment. Therefore, for the development of appropriate Communication, there should be cooperation between both the patient- and caregiver-centered approaches.

Strategies for the Patient

The patient is required to come to the medical appointments while prepared with questions to ask the caregiver and also willing to share his or her concerns. The caregiver is not able to read the patient's mind; hence, the patient needs to express his or her thoughts and concerns clearly. The patients are expected to tell the caregiver all that they know about their health, medical history, and also what they think might have caused the health problems. The patients need to take part in the process of making healthcare decisions by expressing concerns on both the medical and non-medical aspects of their lives such as the impact of their illnesses on the quality of life, family and work with much details as possible. This enables the caregiver to know what is essential to the patient.

The patients are also allowed to bring a family member or even a friend to the medical appointments for support in giving information if they are worried that the caregiver might not fully understand them. The patient is also allowed to ask for a qualified language interpreter if need be. The patient should also ensure that the caregiver uses words and vocabularies that one can understand and also ask for explanations of medical terms that are confusing or not fully understood. The caregiver should be informed of all the healthcare providers one is seeing, including non-traditional practitioners like acupuncturists and chiropractors. The patient should let the caregiver know the traditional remedies to the culture that one is taking. The patient should show that they care about the caregiver and interested in them and their help by asking them how they are doing and also paying attention to the information being given. The information that is provided by the caregiver can be hard and confusing. Therefore, the patient should take notes and even ask for written information. The information that the patient should seek clarification about includes; the side effects of the drugs that are given, treatments that one has been provided, and how soon one is expected to feel better. The more open the patient is with the caregiver, the more understanding as well as participation one gets in their healthcare hence establishing a good relationship with the caregiver.

Reasons for the Current Status of Patient-Caregiver Relationship

Currently, the relationship between the patient and the caregiver want, primarily due to ineffective communication. Various studies that have been carried out mainly in the pediatric clinic show that most of the patients do not tell the doctors what concerns them the most (Locke, Stefano, Koster, Taylor & Greenspan, 2011). This issue is complicated further by the effect of language barrier due to the current diversity of the modern American Society. I have had various encounters where my Communication with the patient is limited due to the lack of Communication caused by the language barrier. The patient is not able to fully express himself or herself, and as a professional, I'm not ready to thoroughly conduct a comprehensive investigation as the Communication is not flowing. This necessitates the use of an interpreter who may not translate everything according to the patient's thoughts and feelings.

Medical Talk and Power Differentials

One of the most effective strategies that are effective in the success of patient-caregiver Communication is equal access to information. In the past years, caregivers felt that it was not right to burden patients with making medical decisions; hence, patients were not given full information regarding their conditions. However, the current trend is that there is the involvement of patients in their treatment; therefore, medical professionals are expected to guarantee the patients full disclosure and the power to make their own informed decisions. I have encountered several cases where the caregiver is the one who makes most of the talking while the patient listens (Locke et al. 2011). This approach is inappropriate as both the caregiver and the patient should be given equal contributions since when patients are not allowed to speak, the caregivers may not have adequate information that is needed to make a diagnosis as well as suggest appropriate and acceptable treatment options. The healthcare professionals and patients need to work together towards more significant equity in medical conversation. The professionals should allow the patients to fully express themselves while the patients are expected to give all the relevant information regarding their conditions.

Collaborative Communication Model

Collaborative communication model involves the caregiver and the patient who have a proactive desire to treat each other as peers who can openly discuss all the available health options to make mutually satisfying decisions. This model draws on each other's expertise, considers the feelings of the patient, and encourages both parties to share their expectations and goals since it promotes a mutual sense of control through the identification of strategies that make both parties feel are beneficial, practical and acceptable (Wittenberg, Kravits, Goldsmith, Ferrell & Fujinami, 2017). This model emphasizes patient-centered Communication, which enhances satisfaction, helps in overcoming racial and ethnic discrimination, lowers costs as well as improves medical outcomes.

Communication Skill Builders

One of the essential skills that are needed in caregiver-patient Communication is motivational interviewing which is a directive, patient-centered style of counseling that is aimed at eliciting behavior change via helping the patients explore as well as resolve ambivalence. Proper dialogue approach is another skill that is needed to improve Communication. This mechanism involves nonverbal encouragement such as looking interested, touching cautiously, and paying attention to the nonverbal display. The nonverbal support includes; a friendly note, use of open questions, avoidance of abrupt topic shift, and taking things in a slow and sure pace (Locke et al. 2011).

Conclusion

Patient-caregiver Communication is a vital clinical function as it is at the heart of medicine and central component of the healthcare delivery system. Patient-caregiver Communication helps in the creation of a good interpersonal relationship, including the patients in the decision-making process, and facilitates the exchange of information that ensures better patient outcomes. The strategies for effective patient-caregiver Communication involves specific roles of both the patient and the caregiver, medical talk and power differentials, communication skill builders, and collaborative, patient-centered communication model.

References

Ha, J. F., & Longnecker, N. (2010). Doctor-Patient Communication: A Review. Ochsner Journal, 10(1), 38-43. Retrieved from: http://www.ochsnerjournal.org/content/10/1/38.abstract

Locke, R., Stefano, M., Koster, A., Taylor, B., & Greenspan, J. (2011). Optimizing Patient/Caregiver Satisfaction through Quality of Communication in the Pediatric Emergency Department. Pediatric Emergency Care, 27(11), 1016-1021. Retrieved from: https://journals.lww.com/pec-online/Abstract/2011/11000/Optimizing_Patient_Caregiver_Satisfaction_Through.3.aspx

Wittenberg, E., Kravits, K., Goldsmith, J., Ferrell, B., & Fujinami, R. (2017). Validation of a Model of Family Caregiver Communication Types and Related Caregiver Outcomes. Palliative & Supportive Care, 15(1), 3-11. Retrieved from: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/palliative-and-supportive-care/article/validation-of-a-model-of-family-caregiver-communication-types-and-related-caregiver-outcomes/AC0C9B07D32F684E438AD8300F5AE98E