Interaction between Nursing Staff and Residents with Aphasia in Long-Term Care: A Mixed Method Case Study

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Linguistics
• Healthcare Communication

Background:

• Long-term care facilities house many individuals with communication disorders, primarily interacting with nursing staff.
• Despite recognized benefits of social interaction, research on communication quality between staff and residents with aphasia is limited.
• This study examines the discourse in interactions between nursing staff and residents with aphasia.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the content and quality of communicative interaction between nursing staff and residents with aphasia.
• To analyze the discourse patterns during routine care activities.

Main Methods:

• A mixed-methods approach was employed, analyzing 26 video recordings of nursing staff and residents with severe aphasia during a routine care activity.
• Qualitative discourse analysis was used to map interaction goals and roles.
• A coding scheme was developed to quantify time spent in different interactional foci.

Main Results:

• Three distinct foci of nurse-initiated interaction were identified: task completion, task-related discussion, and personal topics.
• While most interaction time centered on the care activity, 3-17% was spent on task-related or non-task-related communication.
• Interaction patterns varied between dyads and were not correlated with aphasia severity or activity type.

Conclusions:

• Efforts to engage residents with aphasia socially impact nurses' interaction focus.
• Clinical practice and research should consider contextual and personal factors to enhance social interaction and person-centered care for individuals with aphasia in long-term settings.