Emotional communication with older people: A cross‐sectional study of home care

Abstract

The aim of this study was to explore the influence of characteristics of nurses and older people on emotional communication in home care settings. A generalized, linear, mixed model was used to analyze 188 audio‐recorded home care visits coded with Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences. The results showed that most emotional distress was expressed by older females or with female nurses. The elicitation of an expression of emotional distress was influenced by the nurses' native language and profession. Older women aged 65–84 years were given the most space for emotional expression. We found that emotional communication was primarily influenced by sex for nurses and older people, with an impact on the frequency of expressions of and responses to emotional distress. Expressions of emotional distress by older males were less common and could risk being missed in communication. The results have implications for students' and health professionals' education in increasing their knowledge of and attentiveness to the impacts of their and others' characteristics and stereotypes on emotional communication with older people.

Home‐based nursing care competencies: A scoping review

“…However, Wong et al (2018) highlighted several challenges that nurses need to manage effectively, for example, managing strained social relationships, taking appropriate action on the neglect of health issues by patients and recognising communication barriers. Having good communication skills and demonstrating appropriate emotional intelligence were highlighted in several reviewed articles as important in overcoming such challenges (Ark & Nies, 1996; Benefield, 1996; Davies et al, 2010; Furåker, 2012; Höglander et al, 2019; Irvine, 2005; Lagerin et al, 2016).…”

Psychometric Properties of an Emotional Communication Questionnaire for Education and Healthcare Professionals

“…This structure coincides with the variables considered in the scientific literature on emotional communication. These variables are: Communicative Proactivity, characterised by a positive attitude towards initiating and maintaining communication; Openness and Authenticity, understood as showing oneself to others spontaneously and without deception; Listening, as pointed out by different authors, to ensure affective and emotional communication [6,20,21,23,[31][32][33][34][35].…”

“…Several authors also point out that factors of interpersonal communication can be considered part of emotional communication. These components refer to the expression of one's own emotions, active or empathic listening, non-verbal communication, empathy, authenticity, warmth, and willingness to listen and communicate [6,20,21,23,24,[31][32][33][34][35].…”

Comunicação Emocional em Saúde: Apresentando a Ferramenta de Codificação de Verona de Sequências Emocionais (VR-CoDES)

“…Em 188 visitas domiciliares, a maior parte do sofrimento emocional era expressa por mulheres mais velhas ou por enfermeiras. Os idosos do sexo masculino tendiam a expressar menos o sofrimento emocional, o que representa um desafio para os profissionais reconhecerem as pistas subjacentes e a comunicação emocional pouco efetiva (Höglander et al, 2019). Um estudo (Sundling et al, 2020) comparou as respostas de enfermeiros que prestavam atendimento domiciliar a pacientes idosos na Noruega e na Suécia e identificou que o nível da comunicação centrada no paciente estava associado à maneira como os idosos expressavam seu sofrimento.…”