Communication and Service User Essay

Unit: CU1515 – Introduction to communication in health, social care or children’s and young people’s settings

1.1 Identify different reasons why people communicate

Make relationships
Develop relationships
Express feelings, wishes, needs and preferences
Express thoughts and ideas
Give and receive support
Express and share information
Obtain and share information

1.2 Explain how effective communication affects all aspects of own work

Effective communication is to understand service user and assist them in according to that. Nothing can be done properly without a complete communication. As a Care Assistant, if I could not able to communicate with my service user because of communication barrier then the service would be unsuccessful. We used to do different type of jobs in our care job like Child care, vulnerable adult care, elderly peoples care for their personal as well as domestic care with different mental, physical and environmental situation where effective communication is a must in term of provide proper service.

1.3 Explain why it’s important to observe an individual’s reactions when communicating with them?
Several cases the service user could not able to respond while communicating with us but their body language, gesture or expression. And it’s important to view reactions, because only about 70-80% of communication is verbal, meaning that we are going to be missing out on a large part of communication if we aren't paying attention to peoples facial and bodily reactions.

Emotional difficulties we all have emotional difficulties at times and become upset. You might have split up with your boyfriend or girlfriend or had an argument with someone or you may have had some bad news. The effect can be to not hear or understand what people are saying to you. This can lead to misunderstandings.

Health issues when you are feeling ill, you may not be able to communicate as effectively as when you are feeling well. This can affect your colleagues and service users. Similarly, people who are being cared for in hospital because of an illness may not be able to communicate in their normal way. Some long-term (chronic) illnesses such as Parkinson’s

Sensory deprivation when someone cannot receive or pass on information because they have impairment to one or more of their senses, most commonly a visual or a hearing disability.

Foreign language when someone speaks a different language or uses sign language, they may not be able to make any sense of information they are being given by someone trying to help them if that person does not speak their language.

Jargon when a service provider uses technical language the service user may not understand. For example, the doctor may say that a patient needs bloods and an MRI scan. That can sound very frightening to someone who has been rushed into hospital. It is better if the doctor explains that they need to take some blood to do some simple tests and then explains what a MRI scan is. Understanding the facts can make something seem less scary.

Slang when a service user uses language that not everyone uses, such as saying they have a problem with their waterworks. This can mean their plumbing system but also means a problem going to the toilet. Sometimes it may be appropriate to use slang with your peers but in normal working with colleagues or service users you should avoid using any language that can be misunderstood or misinterpreted or that might cause offence.

Cultural differences when the same thing means different things in two cultures, communication can be difficult. For example, it is seen as polite and respectful to make eye contact when speaking to someone in Western culture but in other

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