By Ameerah Ahmed (Physiotherapist)
Communication…
What does this mean to you? Ever been in a shop trying to buy something and the sales assistant doesn’t listen to what you want or need? We do not want that to happen to one of your loved ones when it comes to their rehabilitation. Come and have a glance at how we communicate effectively at PHT.
What is Effective Communication?
Effective communication is a key component in improving health outcomes within the elderly population. These health outcomes include patient satisfaction, regulated emotions, increased exercise compliance and a drive to get better.
What are the Different Types of Communication?
Communication is not only verbal, however can also be non-verbal, for example via eye contact, body language or hand gestures. Both are important to develop a strong client-therapist relationship allowing trust to be built between the two . As well as a strong professional relationship, effective communication allows for patient centered care, one of the core values within PHT, which too improves patient satisfaction, adherence and health related outcomes . Depending on the patient, effective communication should be modified to best suit the patient’s needs.
As physiotherapists, we take on a biopsychosocial approach, therefore we are not only exploring the injury or condition, but we also look at social factors or psychological factors in the clients’ life, as this may have an impact on recovery and rehabilitation. In order to build on this type of approach, effective communication is required to gain an understanding of the client as a whole, thus improve their recovery and rehabilitation. We treat every client as their own person . ‘People centred care’.
Why is Effective Communication Particularly Important with the Elderly Population?
In the United Kingdom, we have what is known as an ageing population. This is where the population of people aged 65 and over is significantly increasing. More than half of our clients (PHT warriors) are 50+ years old. As you age, you will face different healthcare requirements. Common health related impacts of ageing are:
- Hearing loss
- Back and Neck pain
- Osteoarthritis
- Diabetes
- Depression
- Dementia
- Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
- Increased risk of falls
We have been dealing with these clients for years and below are a few effective communication rules that our clinicians live by.
PHT Communication rules and why it’s important?
- Listen without interrupting. This is important as it allows the client to feel heard and the physiotherapist to gain an in-depth understanding of the client.
- Reflecting back to the client what you have learnt also allows the client to feel heard and the physiotherapist to know if they have understood correctly.; this can be done by paraphrasing.
- Speaking clearly and with simple language. As discussed above, with age there is an increased risk of hearing loss. Therefore, speaking clearly will allow the client to hear and understand every word.
- Similar to this, having an understanding of the client’s cognitive level is very important to know how to communicate, whether that’s using simple language, visual imagery or sometimes even drawings might be the best way to communicate.
- Understanding the client’s goals and needs is very important to communicate effectively. Some elderly client would like to return to their prior activities of daily living such as being able to go on a 20-minute walk independently. This is important to understand as the physiotherapist to ensure you are not training them to run a marathon, for example.
7. Whilst understanding their goals and needs, it is equally as important to understand their barriers. This is an important tool in communication to allow the physiotherapist to provide accurate details of the client’s ability to them; this will also allow for the best treatment plan tailored to them.
8. Respecting and understanding different cultures, religions and beliefs is important to communicate effectively. At PHT we see clients from different backgrounds and cultures, some of whom may present with a language barrier, however, this does not stop us from communicating as best as we can to allow the client to feel safe and trust us as their physiotherapist.
9. Finally, including the clients in all decisions made in regards to them, keeping them informed at all points. This is important because it builds a good client-therapist relationship and develops trust between the two.
How Do We Communicate Planned Exercises at PHT?
After every session at PHT, you will be provided with an exercise program to complete until you are next seen by one of our physiotherapists. There are multiple ways we inform the clients of their program. These are via;
- Videos of the patient completing the exercises on their own device or on the PHT telephone to be sent directly to the client
- Messages of the program directly to the client via our PHT company phone
- Printed images/physical copies of the program
- Emailed directly to the client
How Do You Want our Physios to communicate with you? Contact us and let us know