The importance of communication in home care
Home care communication can be a challenge; there’s no escaping it. But there is always a way to identify, address, and overcome the problem.
Without effective communication, issues would quickly arise. The quality of care would drop off, leaving the recipient struggling, perhaps alone or in pain. Family members want to be updated on someone’s condition and would feel upset to be left out. The home caregiver needs to know as much information as possible. Without this, they won’t be able to do their job properly.
All this highlights the importance of good underlying communication in home care services, which we’ll address in this post.
Who needs to communicate effectively for good home care?
So, who’s involved? Who needs to work together for the most effective home care services communication?
Three primary parties stand out: the care recipient, the caregiver, and the care recipient’s family and loved ones.
These people must discuss various subjects, including likes and dislikes, preferences, aches and pains, boundaries, and so on. For example, the caregiver may need to learn how a non-verbal care recipient expresses themselves so they can provide the most effective care.
Others are also involved in care communication, by extension. For instance, the caregiver’s employer or agency may like to occasionally keep in touch, and you with them. Other professionals dropping by (doctors, paramedics, social services, hairdressers, chiropodists, etc.) will also need to keep everyone in the loop.
In short, the more information can be expressed and passed along, the better the experience will be for everyone – especially the care recipient.
Qualities for good communication in home care
Which are the most crucial communication qualities tailored to health care? Here’s what we come across regularly and encourage everyone involved to adopt.
- Compassionate – people express themselves differently, especially someone suffering from an illness or disease. Empathy and compassion mean putting yourself in the other person’s shoes and trying to understand what they need.
- Clear – clear communication can be a challenge, but when everyone does their best, it makes things much more straightforward. Examples of clear communication include speaking or writing succinctly when briefing someone on the care recipient’s condition and ensuring legible handwriting.
- Open – a home caregiver must be allowed into someone’s life to a reasonable extent, particularly if they live with you. The more they know about people’s internal feelings, gut instincts, tensions and social setups, the more they can help.
- Take your time – some people requiring care can’t express information well. Of course, this is especially true with cognitive disorders and neurological diseases like dementia, Parkinson’s, Motor Neurone Disease, and so on. Listen to them for an extended period, and don’t be afraid to ask them to repeat something. With time, you’ll pick up what they want or what they’re asking.
- Involvement – everyone is in this situation together: the person receiving care, the home caregiver, and the family. Keep everyone involved and working together. For instance, try not to talk about someone in front of them without bringing them into the conversation.
Potential barriers to communication in home care services
Home care situations often give rise to challenging circumstances and communication difficulties to overcome. We encounter a number of these daily.
- Cognitive impairments – someone suffering from cognitive impairment (such as disease or the after-effects of a stroke) will naturally find communication very challenging.
- Hearing difficulties – when someone can’t hear, they won’t be able to grasp what you’re saying. Deteriorating hearing presents a particular obstacle when the individual suffers from cognitive impairment (above).
- Cultural differences – differences across our many cultures can present communication issues. For instance, in some backgrounds, it may be improper for a female to care for a male or vice versa. Some individuals are more likely to ask for help or express pain than others, and so on.
- Different interests – as minor as it sounds, communication is tough when people have naturally differing interests. Here, it’s the job of the home caregiver to learn about the recipient’s interests to engage with them on a deeper level.
- Patience – patience is a skill people learn rather than one they’re born with. It takes practice. With time, we all get better at it.
Actionable communication strategies and tools to foster better home care communication
We’ve talked about the barriers to communication in home health care above. But what about the solutions? Let’s finish by discussing these.
Although it might not sound interesting, one of the first things we recommend is taking relevant courses. The right for you depends on your circumstances and needs. For instance, it might be helpful to learn about the cultures of different countries and religions. Perhaps taking an awareness course on dementia, autism, MS, or whichever disease is affecting your loved one is a good idea. What about a manual handling course to ensure you don’t hurt your loved one?
Hearing aids can address hearing problems. A hearing aid specialist can often help individuals who can’t express themselves, too. These services are usually covered by the NHS.
As a final thing to watch out for, take your time with any notebooks documenting the person receiving care. Whether these are electronic or handwritten, ensure the text is legible and contains valuable information like how they were feeling, what exercise they did, and when they took their medication. You’ll find online courses and advice explaining how to approach these.
At Caremark, we place a firm dependence on solid communication with everyone involved in home care services. For more information on what you can do to make the process easier and how we operate, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re always happy to assist.