Quality Communication Can Improve Patient-Centered Health Outcomes Among Older Adults

Rio Salado College

Quality Communication Can Improve Patient-Centered Health Outcomes Among Older Patients

Chana Ruth Boykin
English 102
Marion Hickman

Good communication is very important for elderly patients. In our healthcare system it is a challenge to practice good communication skills and as a result it is recognized that the patients and staff suffer as a result. According to statistics in a 2016 study that was completed by the Risk Management Foundation of the Harvard Medical Institutions, poor communication in the United States regarding hospitals or other medical facilities, about 30% of malpractice lawsuits are the result of poor communication. ( Abdelwahab, Searchmoore, Asiri, Lam. Pg.1 ) Research shows that good communication can lead to better patient outcomes, such as reduced medication errors, reduced hospital readmission, increased patient satisfaction, improved patient adherence to treatment, and less burnout for physicians or health care workers. (Sharkiya, Samer. Pg.1) These statistics will only grow if health care staff are poorly educated or lack the basics of knowledge in good communication skills. My prior research has only showed the good outweighs the bad in good communication and that patients and staff both benefit from good communication skills. A study done by The National Library of Medicine in 2023 written by Samer H. Sharkiya has focused on the impact of patient outcomes related to quality communication skills among health care providers. The author noted several trials done and the study of good quality communication. The author is very knowledgeable on the writings and from what I read there was no bias being focused on. The overall argument that the author presents is that there are many types of communication skills that can be utilized in an effort to better patient outcomes. The purpose of this writing seemed to focus on informing the medical communities involved in patient care and outcomes. The intended audience was targeted to health care professionals who are actively involved in patient care. The focus of this paper is how good communication skills can either make or break the patient outcomes. (Sharkiya, Samer. Pg.1)

All healthcare staff can truly benefit from these studies being done. There was a study done by The National Library of Medicine in 2023 written by Samer H. Sharkiya. Samer Sharkiya has spent his studies focusing on the impact of patient outcomes related to quality communication skills among healthcare priorities. The author's argument that he presents is that there are many types of communication skills that can be utilized in an effort to better patient outcomes. The author's purpose for his writings is to focus on informing the medical communities involved in direct patient care and their outcomes. (Sharkiya Samer. Pg.1) Having more education on the topic of good communication skills can only improve patient satisfaction and outcomes and can make our jobs as healthcare workers more meaningful. In the beginning of my research on this topic, my intention was to focus on an audience that will benefit healthcare workers who have direct patient contact as well as myself. The author made a statement that the quality of physician to patient communication has an influence on patient centered outcomes. For example, good communication skills can lead to patient compliance, healthy emotions, and even good outcomes. The focus should be on how to improve overall health in each individual patient. The point is that good communication can make or break trust between medical staff and the patients which directly influences their outcomes. A good point brought out by the author is that good communication skills is more than just a verbal communication skill. In fact, the author gave several examples of good communication skills. For example, non verbal communications skills showed to be critical in patient outcomes. Such as, physical touch. Physical touch shows the patient that you care and is a type of communication skill used like when entering the patients room. This builds trust in that the patient knows you make an appearance in a non drastic manner. Verbal communication skills showed to improved health literacy as well as mental and physical health improvements. Even more so, the author points out that not only is good communication skills important in patient outcomes but the style of communication utilized should be carefully studied and evaluated. For what works for one patient may not necessarily be accepted by other patients. The patient's cultural back ground can play a significant role in these outcomes regarding communication skills. The point in that both nurses and doctors must be aware of their verbal and non verbal skills especially in the older populations.
The purpose for my research on this topic is to bring out the points of good communication skills and how it can impact the overall healthcare setting as well as patient outcomes. The entire point of this writing is to focus on making healthcare workers more knowledgeable to better the overall outcomes. The second point to remember is the purpose is to better patient outcomes via providing this knowledge All of my sources comes from online using different sites as well as using observation in the workplace as a healthcare worker myself. By utilizing the internet I found that this is a common discussion. As a healthcare worker in the healthcare industry I see first hand just how much of an issue communication skills can be and how there is a lack of this skill. Having a lack of good communication skills can breakdown good patient outcomes as well as break trust in the patients. The differences that I noticed while doing my research was that some web sites focused more on the studies that has been done while other writers focus more on giving the general guidance and pointers to providing better outcomes and I found with all the sources that overall the idea is to better educate healthcare workers on the importance of these skills to deliver better outcomes. While the author focuses on the types of communication skills and the importance of such, some conditions must be met for the communication to be effective. Such as, the medical staff should be proactive in providing biomedical and psycho social interactions and that verbal communication requires mutual respect, equity, and addressing conflict. Among the elderly population seems to be a high breed of conflict at times.
Some of the articles written by the authors seems to be more of reason and logic and focuses more on the factual information. One author made a statement that the quality of physician to patient communication has an influence on patient centered outcomes. For example, good communication skills can lead to patient compliance, healthy emotions, and even better outcomes. The point to be made is that good communication can make or break trust between medical staff and the patient which directly influences their outcomes. The other point to be made is that good communication skills is more than just verbal communication skills.
As I mentioned earlier in this writing is that I utilized two different sources to get my research. First, I utilized the online sources because it broadens my ability to get my research done and secondly, I utilized observation in the work place to gain the rest of my information. While the online sources assisted me in providing me a variety of of different view points the observation allowed me to actually observe it and to make sense of it all. The reason I think observation is good in any health care facility is that while being a healthcare worker it allows the opportunity to see hands on how bad/good communication actually affects the patients.
Through my entire research I found that in order for good communication to flow that healthcare workers should follow the advice given. This advice is that healthcare workers should spend time focusing on high breed conflict among the elderly population and healthcare workers should be proactive in providing biomedical and psycho social interactions and that verbal communication requires mutual respect, equity, and addressing these conflicts.
Through the sources that I utilized I was able to find many strategies to better communication skills in the healthcare setting. One writer shows to focus more on giving the strategies that can be utilized to improve these outcomes. Such as, the use of non verbal communication skills to be able to impact patient-centered outcomes. ( Sharkiya Samer. Pg.1) In the Journey Of The Royal Society of Medicine the writer focuses more on giving empathy to the patients while communicating with them. ( Howick Jeremy. Pg.1)
In conclusion, there are always several aspects of exploring good communication strategies. In the healthcare setting, communication skills can either make or break patient care outcomes.
The main points of focus is on the style of communication, such as verbal or non verbal communication. The medical staff working in the healthcare setting must remain proactive in their approaches focusing on the biomedical and psycho social interactions as well as making sure that respect, equity, and addressing conflict is and remains a part of every communication strategy. In my obserbation thus far, I have noticed that when I utilize gentle touch when approaching my patients that they are responding in a positive manner. In the end, patient outcomes is one of the main reasons we enter healthcare because we want to help others. Generally, I think that it is or should be the goal for all healthcare workers to strive to improve patient satisfaction and their outcomes. Overall, I believe that currently the health care system should make improvements in how they are interacting with the patients because communication skills are lacking. . I feel that this is an important issue to rectify and that having poor communication in the health care system will only impact it more and more negatively as time goes on. . It is important to make sure to also pay attention to the style needed in every individual circumstance as culture of the patient and the environment can also be a factor to consider. In the elderly population as is discussed in this writing is that most patient outcomes are very much doable due to the fact that staff deal with the same patients on a daily basis. In closing, it is important for all healthcare workers be aware of their styles of communication and to strive for this improvement even in the times of difficult environments.
Three categories in which I feel my paper is weak. For one, it is a constant challenge for me to utilize MLA format. Even though I feel it is getting better with time ( I hope ) it is a major challenge for me and I feel with more and more practice it will get better. The second category in which I feel my paper is weak is grammar. I don't know about how good the grammar is which is also a challenge. Thirdly, I feel my paper is weak in regards to sentence structure and the length of the paper needs to be longer. However, there is only so much on the topic that I decided to research and write about.

Work Cited Page

It is not customary for a research paper to begin by immediately presenting researched information in the introductory paragraph. Rather, the first paragraph is always used to help the reader understand why the writer chose to do a paper about that topic, the reasons behind his choice, and what the premise of the research paper, plus an overview of the possible outcome or solution might be. It must not be an immediate presentation of information. The introduction and thesis statement will set the tone for the rest of the presentation.

The current first paragraph is heavily reliant on the information coming from other sources, but does not make any room for an insight from the writer. The paragraphs of information cannot simply contain the thoughts of others, the point of view of the writer regarding this information and its applicability to his own thoughts are just as important as the sources of information. The paragraph must never be an open ended presentation that hangs on information citation.

The conclusion is quite weak as it does not accurately wrap up the discussion. It is almost as if the writer just decided to end the paper there without any regard for the final outcome or explanation of the preceding information and statements. That should be improved upon in the revision.