Communication skills can ease conflicts
September 1, 1997
Communication skills can ease conflicts
Many behaviors that cause stress among families, nursing staff, and Alzheimer’s patients actually result from a failure to understand how these patients process information, says Cindy Stinson, MSN, RNC, CNS, a consultant with Health Education Resources and an instructor with Lamar University in Beaumont, TX. She offers these tips for communicating with Alzheimer’s patients:
• Avoid open-ended questions.
• Limit choices.
• Minimize the use of pronouns. Instead, repeat the patient’s name.
• Break down tasks into single steps. Give only one step at a time, rather than a string of instructions.
• Repeat yourself, if necessary.
"An Alzheimer’s patient may forget almost immediately what you’ve told them before. You can’t tell them: Stand up. Go into the bathroom. Take off your clothes. Turn on the shower, and get into it," Stinson says. "If you get a call from a nurse or caregiver complaining that your client is uncooperative, suggest that the nurse or caregiver break down all instructions into single steps."
(Editor’s note: For more on how to reduce negative behaviors and alleviate stress in Alzheimer’s patients, see stories, pp. 152-153.)
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