Introduction to Healthcare Communication
It is the enhancement of the health decisions involving health issues at the community and individual level, through the utilization of “communication strategies to inform and influence” them in matters relating to health. An opportunity exists to improve the health of the public through the linking of communication and health (National Cancer Institute (NCI), 1989, Piotrow, Kincaid, Rimon, et al, 1997; cited in Healthy People 2010). It can help through the preventing of disease spreading and. Concepts regarding healthcare communication, including the following (Heathy People 2010, 2010);
Health professional-patient relations, individuals’ exposure to, search for, and use of health information, individuals’ adherence to clinical recommendations and regimens, the construction of public health messages and campaigns, the dissemination of individual and population health risk information, that is risk communication.
Other aspects include telehealth application issues, educating the masses on how to have access to the healthcare facilities means for them and promoting a good healthcare culture (Jackson and Duffy, 1998; cited in Healthy People 2010). Effective healthcare communication can be perceived to contain a number of characters. These include;
- Accuracy, which deals with the validity of service contents to aid interpretation, judgment and other things.
- Availability, where the content is accessible to individuals easily and it is possible to deliver it. This will vary depending on the type of message, how complex or easy the message is, the purpose of the message, among other things. Availability of messages is ensured for example by placing the message in the kiosks, advertisements over the radio stations, among other channels.
- Balance where the benefits and the risks relating to the issues discussed, is focused upon by the message
- Consistency, where the content must remain to display and communicate the same message as other sources of the same type of information. Thus, to ensure this, all the sources of information must contain accurate messages.
- Cultural competence which includes “the design, implementation, and evaluation process that accounts for special issues for select population groups” (Healthy People 2010).
Impacts of Healthcare Communication
For patients, the practice can improve in their awareness of the risks of health and the related application solutions. In addition, the patients can be motivated the reduction the risks related to these problems and can gain access to information on how other people in similar situations can be helped. In addition, healthcare communication can implant a positive attitude among the patients.
For the case of healthcare facilities, it can end up increasing demand for the services as well as decreasing the demand for undesirable healthcare issues. It is possible that the patients will have increased access to related information involving the selection f the healthcare plans, providers of healthcare as well as treatments (National Cancer Institute (NCI), 1989; cited in Healthy People 2010). The benefits to the community at large would involve the possibility to (Piotrow, Kincaid, Rimon et al, 1997; cited in Healthy People 2010);
influence the public agenda, advocate for policies and programs, promote positive changes in the socio-economic and physical environments, improve the delivery of public health and health care services, and encourage social norms that benefit health and quality of life
Outcomes
The above benefits also accrue to healthcare providers. For the purpose of healthcare outcomes, it has been possible to achieve prevention of diseases and promoting of the same in many areas. The clinical environment has experienced improved outcomes in such areas as “group interactions in clinical situations” (Healthy People 2010). These are, for example, “provider-patient, provider-provider, and among members of a health care team” (Healthy People 2010). This is through the provision of training to patients and professionals for effective communication as regards healthcare communication. It has sought to improve the attitudes, motivation as well as awareness of individuals and the public to healthcare, through disseminating health messages. Healthcare communication has helped in the attainment of the integration between media and community healthcare programs.
The linkage among the stakeholders in healthcare through proper healthcare communication is important as far as delivery of services is concerned. The linkage itself will automatically improve the healthcare because the working among the stakeholders is improved in terms of interactions, quality of these interactions, as well as the value of the interactions, among other things.
Poor Healthcare Communications
Poor healthcare communications may hamper health in a variety of ways. Since understandability of healthcare services impacts on the healthcare outcomes, this may happen as a result of poor healthcare communication. Awareness of individuals to healthcare services will also be poor if healthcare communication is poor. The patients, professionals and the community at large will not understand the services in detail.
Has as been seen, motivating individuals as relates to healthcare is very important. Therefore, poor healthcare communication fails to achieve this, and hence achieves poor motivation among individuals relating to healthcare services. Poor healthcare communication achieves poor linkages between media, public health, healthcare professionals, healthcare facilities and the patients. In overall, poor healthcare communication leads to poor outcomes in areas associated to healthcare.
Therapeutic communication: Principles and Concepts
A number of concepts and theory will be essential for the survival of therapeutic communication. Group communication issues are very important as far as healthcare communication is concerned. There is expected that the effectiveness will improve where there is linkage of individual goals with institutional goals. In addition, problems would be expected to arise where individuals are inclined to achieving other objectives rather than those required, or as expected of them.
It is necessary that parties will expect each other to achieve goals that are realistic. Low performance may be experienced with situations where there is no congruency of expectations to reaching the goals. In addition, restrictive environments might be realized if care is not taken regarding such issues. Cella & Yellen (1993; cited in Miller, 2010) have posited the necessity to look at the issues critically.
Good norms are the foundation of a good therapeutic communication practice. This is because norms act to improve or hamper communication among the participants. A good level of cohesion is expected to yield better results of therapeutic communication since the level of performance within groups might be enhanced through it. It is therefore important that groups have permanent memberships which improve cohesiveness among the involved parties.
Nevertheless, a good steady mechanism is also important as far as therapeutic communication is concerned (Zander, 1994; cited in Miller, 2010). The role of leadership in therapeutic communication cannot be ignored. It impacts on the level of performance within the concerned groups and the leaders must be willing to adopt strategies aimed at achieving good results as far as therapeutic communication is concerned.
References
Cella, B. & Yellen, S. (1993): Cancer support groups. Cancer practice, Vol. 1 (1): 56-61.
Jackson, D., and Duffy, K., eds. (1998). Health Communication Research. Westport, CT: Greenwood.
Miller, Y. (2010). Personal and professional healthcare communication paper. Web.
National Cancer Institute (NCI). (1989). Making Health Communications Work. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Piotrow, T., Kincaid, L., and Rimon, G. et al. (1997). Health Communication. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Zander, F. (1994): Making groups effective. Josey Bass. p 23.