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Missed opportunities for person-centered communication: implications for staff-resident interactions in long-term care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 November 2013

Marie Y. Savundranayagam
Marie Y. Savundranayagam*
Affiliation:
School of Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: Marie Y. Savundranayagam, PhD, School of Health Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Arthur & Sonia Labatt Health Sciences Building, Room 219, Western University, London, ON, CanadaN6A 5B9. Phone: +1-519-661-2111 x82215. Email: msavund@uwo.ca.
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Abstract

Background:

Social interactions in long-term care settings between staff and residents with dementia have been characterized as task-oriented, patronizing, and/or overly directive. Long-term care settings can be contexts that emphasize dependency and threaten the personal identity of older residents. Yet, leaders in the long-term care sector have acknowledged recently that dementia care must move beyond the completion of caregiving tasks and adopt a person-centered approach. This approach involves caregivers incorporating a resident's life history and preferences during interactions. The objectives of this study were to examine the extent to which staff–resident communication is person-centered and the extent to which staff miss opportunities to communicate with residents in a person-centered manner.

Methods:

Conversations (N = 46) of 13 staff–resident dyads were audio-recorded during routine care tasks over 12 weeks. Staff utterances within these conversations were coded for person-centered communication and missed opportunities where person-centered communication could have been used.

Results:

Findings revealed a common communication sequence where utterances coded as person-centered were followed by utterances coded as missed opportunities. This sequence suggests that the positive impact of person-centered communication may be undermined when such communication is followed by missed opportunities. Data also revealed that missed opportunities highlight the need for staff training.

Conclusion:

The findings underscore the importance of sustaining person-centered communication while completing routine care tasks.

Keywords

person-centered communicationstaff caregiversdementialong-term care
Type
Research Article
Information
International Psychogeriatrics , Volume 26 , Issue 4 , April 2014 , pp. 645 - 655
Copyright
Copyright © International Psychogeriatric Association 2013 

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