Unit 201- Introduction to communication in health
Name: Adeola Adewale
1. Identify the different reasons people communicate.
Communication is a way of exchanging information either verbally, in written or non-verbally. It may be to a child, to a parent, to a staff or to visitors. Communication takes many different forms, from talking through letters and memos.
There are many different reasons as to why people communicate in the setting:
* To give and receive information
* To give and receive instruction
* To discuss a situation
* To avoid confusion
* To express a needs and feelings
* To build relationship
* To share ideas and thoughts
To give and receive information:
To inform parents about the daily activities of the setting such as routines, visit and craft activities. And informing the parents about incident or accident or illness happened in the setting e.g., If their child had a fever or fell down and hurt themselves. Give information about the child’s progress in the setting.
To give and receive instruction:
When we give instruction to child while doing an activity, it should be clear and down towards their level, so that the children understand what we except from them. It also avoids confusion.
To build relationship:
When a new parent, child or practitioner joins a setting, we welcome them by smiling and saying “hello” to them. It also helps to build a good relation between the parents and the staffs so that they feel confident and trust us when they leave their child at the setting.
To express a needs and feelings:
We can express our feeling through communication by givi1.1. Identify the different reasons people communicate.
2. EXPLAIN HOW EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION AFFECTS ALL ASPECTS OF WORK
Physical changes can affect communication.
Age-related decline in physical abilities can make communication more challenging, and some illnesses make communication more difficult. A hearing loss makes you harder to understand, so be patient and speak more clearly. Be sure you face the person when you talk, and avoid talking while you eat. Check to see if an assistive listening device could improve communication by phone.
Vision loss makes it harder for the elderly person to recognize you, so don’t take it personally. Some elderly people experience changes in speaking ability, and their voices become weaker, or harder to understand. Be patient when listening, and be aware of when the elderly person gets tired and wants the visit to end.
Some age-related memory loss is normal as people grow older, although people experience different degrees of memory loss. Most often, short-term memory is affected, making it harder for an elderly person to remember recent events. Keep this in mind, and practice patience.
Allow the person to reminisce, and to grieve.
When someone lives to be very old, it’s impossible not to experience some feelings of significant loss. The deaths of relatives and friends, losing the ability to work and be independent, changes in health and finances, and being unable to make simple decisions can all affect an elderly person’s self-esteem.
These losses can create sadness, and grieving. Common responses to grieving are depression, social withdrawal, and irritability, so look for these symptoms in the elderly person and seek medical advice or counselling.
Respect the person’s background, knowledge, and values.
Because an elderly person’s life experience may be very different from yours, it’s important to let the person express those thoughts and feelings, and to respect them even if you disagree.
3. Explain why it is important to observe an individual’s reactions when communicating with them.
Not all people are able to communicate verbally because of the lack of their confidence or they don’t know the language. That is why it is very important to observe their facial and body reaction. This means that the worker is going to miss out on a large part of communication if he/she is not paying attention to
