Non-verbal behaviour in nurse-elderly patient communication

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Nursing Communication Studies
• Healthcare Interaction Analysis

Background:

• Effective nurse-elderly patient communication is crucial for quality care.
• Non-verbal communication plays a significant role in establishing therapeutic relationships.
• Understanding communication patterns in different care settings (home nursing vs. residential care) is essential.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of specific non-verbal behaviors in nurse-elderly patient interactions.
• To examine the relationship between non-verbal cues and verbal communication (socio-emotional vs. task-related).
• To compare non-verbal communication patterns across two distinct care environments.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 181 videotaped nursing encounters involving 47 nurses.
• Observation of six key non-verbal behaviors: eye gaze, head nodding, smiling, forward leaning, affective touch, and instrumental touch.
• Utilized an adapted Roter's Interaction Analysis System for verbal communication and hierarchical linear models for data analysis.

Main Results:

• Nurses primarily employed eye gaze, head nodding, and smiling to foster positive patient relationships.
• Affective touch was predominantly influenced by individual nursing styles.
• Nurses in homes for the elderly demonstrated a higher frequency of patient-directed gaze and affective touch compared to community-based nurses.

Conclusions:

• Non-verbal communication, particularly eye gaze, nodding, and smiling, is vital for nurses in building rapport with elderly patients.
• Care setting significantly influences the display of non-verbal behaviors, with residential care settings promoting more frequent use.
• Further research into the impact of non-verbal communication on patient outcomes in geriatric care is warranted.