[Effective communication with the mentally challenged person during treatment of minor ailments]

The research objectives were to explore and describe the nature of communication with the mentally retarded adult during treatment of minor ailments; and to describe guidelines for the community nurse in order to facilitate more effective communication during the treatment of minor ailments in the mentally retarded adult for the promotion, maintenance and restoration of the mentally retarded individual's health. The community nurse pays attention to the protection of the mentally retarded individual's health, and identifies and treats minor ailments encountered by the mentally retarded individual. Because of the disability of the adults, lacking communication and obstacles in the exchange and interpretation of communication, could take place between the community nurse and the mentally retarded adult. The responsibility lies with the community nurse to facilitate effective communication, since the mentally retarded individual is not always capable of speaking on his/her own behalf. Guidelines are needed for the facilitation of effective communication between the community nurse and the mentally retarded adult during the treatment of minor ailments. In this research, use were made of a qulitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design. The research method consisted of participative observation during which video recording and the taking of field notes were applied. Two themes were identified during data analysis, namely: Verbal communication is aimed at the treatment of wounds. The more functional and task-orientated the community nurse's interaction with the mentally retarded individual, the more the mentally retarded individual would generate symptoms to establish emotional contact and interaction; The non-verbal behaviour of the community nurse focuses on the treatment of wounds and organisation of the environment. The more structure is created, the more play-out-behaviour is shown by the mentally retarded individual in need of contact. The researcher came to the conclusion that the community nurse refrains form near/close contact with the mentally retarded individual, to bridge her own discomfort. The community nurse is "busy" with the act of treating wounds, in order to refrain from effective interaction.