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Essay on Communication in Health and Social Care part 2

Essay on Communication in Health and Social Care  part 1

Introduction

The impact of values and cultural factors on the communication process in health and social care settings

Values and cultural factors influence the effectiveness of a communication process in health and social care settings. Care workers should be ready to assess the values of their client in order to avoid conflicts and poor communication practices (Moonie, 2005).  Researchers place emphasis on the role of spiritual assessment in health and social care settings (Barrett et al., 2004; Moonie, 2005). Cultural assessment of health and social care users influence psychological functioning of individuals and their outcomes in communication. Regardless of one’s cultural background, care workers should balance their honesty and health and social care users’ hope. If a care worker effectively communicates, his activity is not influenced by cultural diversity issues (Barrett et al., 2004).

In addition, researchers suggest that multicultural experience can improve the ability of care workers to communicate with clients from different cultural backgrounds. Health and social care practices in multicultural context should be focused on one’s cultural believes and values, as well as on the knowledge of the lifestyles of diverse groups (Barrett et al., 2004). Care workers should be well-trained to apply this knowledge and cultural experience to provide culturally appropriate health and social care (Barrett et al., 2004; Moonie, 2005). Care worker should respect traditional health care practices that influence their clients’ acceptance of treatment methods. They should explore their clients’ beliefs in the context of religion and culture. Open communication helps to address the existing cultural differences and enhance health and social care practices (Barrett et al., 2004; Moonie, 2005).

The impact of legislation, charters and codes of practice on the communication process in health and social care settings

Legislation, charters and codes of practice influence the effectiveness of the communication process in health and social care settings. Care worker should comply with the established laws and regulations aimed at promoting the rights of clients, including confidentiality. Care workers should realize the role of codes of practice and charters used in health and social care settings (Dickson et al., 1994).  Key legislation influences not only the rights of health and social care users, but also the rights of care workers. In general, legislation, charters and codes of practice helps to avoid discrimination and abuse. Staff members should convey respect and use the proper strategies to promote the rights of their clients in health and social care settings (Barrett et al., 2004).  Special attention should be paid to equal opportunities policies, professional values, codes of practice, as well as training and supervision policies, which affect care workers’ views on the rights of their clients (Barrett et al., 2004). Thus, legislation, charters and codes of practice used in the communication process in health and social care settings help to develop a quality service. Legislation and policies set certain targets that should be met by health and social care workers (Fisher, 2005).

The analysis of the effectiveness of organizational systems and policies in promoting good practice in communication in health and social care settings

The effectiveness of organizational systems and policies in promoting good practice in communication in health and social care settings depends on a variety of factors. Care workers should recognize how to encourage communication (Barrett et al., 2004). The organizational system developed in health and social care settings should promote different types of communication to address the needs of health and social care service users, including

  • oral communication practices (listening and speaking);
  • written communication practices (developing care plans);
  • body language techniques;
  • electronic communication (e-mails)
  • special types of communication appropriate for health and social care settings (Fisher, 2005).

Some ways of improving the communication process in a health and social care settings

As communication has become an issue of concern in the debates regarding the future development of health and social care field, care workers should be encouraged to use the proper strategies aimed at improving their communication process (Barett et al., 2004; Fisher, 2005).  There are many different ways to develop more effective relationships with clients, as well as to work jointly with other health and social care professionals (Barett et al., 2004; Fisher, 2005). It is recommended to promote openness in communication practices, participation in interactions and partnership, transform the nature of relationships (if necessary), make communication process more informative and interesting and less interruptive, facilitate teamwork interventions, and address any problem that may affect inter-professional teamwork (Barett et al., 2004).

Besides, it would be better to promote sharing assessment in health and social care because shared awareness and understanding result in improved communication practices and enhanced patient satisfaction (Barett et al., 2004). The use of case scenarios can help to support practical interpretation of the established legal guidelines regarding communication in health and social care settings. Real-life scenarios provide vital materials for improved communication process (Fisher, 2005).

The use of information and communication technology (ICT)

in health and social care

The use standard ICT software packages to support work in health and social care settings

Today care workers effectively use standard ICT software packages to support work in health and social care settings (Boulos & Wheeler, 2007). The use of ICT within health and social care context includes a wide range of ICT applications, ranging from “ambient assistant living, clinical imagining processing, decision support, e-therapy, electronic health records, and mobile health software applications” (Martinho et al., 2013, p. 19).

One of the examples of the use of standard ICT software packages is Web 2.0 sociable technologies and social software that are appropriate for the application in health and social care field ((Boulos & Wheeler, 2007; Martinho et al., 2013). These ICT applications include “social networking services, collaborative filtering, social bookmarking, folksonomies, social search engines, file sharing and tagging, mashups, instant messaging, and online multi-player games” (Boulos & Wheeler, 2007, p. 2). Web 2.0 technologies help to manage online information and knowledge sources, e.g. clinical and research information in the field of health and social care. In fact, health and social care workers face certain challenges concerning the effectiveness of the use of ICT. On one hand, software packages specially designed for health and social care have “strict requirements, such as reliability, performance, and usability” (Martinho et al., 2013, p. 21). On the other hand, health and social care professionals do not trust the results provided by the ICT applications, e.g. regarding the accuracy of the proper medical data, some diagnosis-related issues, as well as data security (Martinho et al., 2013). In practice, health and social care professionals should perform standard procedures to meet the needs of the ICT applications.

Analysis of the benefits of using ICT in health and social care for users of services, care workers and care organizations

There are many benefits of using ICT in health and social care for users of services, care workers and care organizations. The use of ICT contributes to the improvements in health and social care provision and outcomes through effective monitoring practices. Special policies and initiatives have been developed to address the needs of care workers and care services users (OECD, 2013). Some of these benefits include:

  • improved quality of health and social care services (the use of ICT guarantees support for care workers’ practices in health and social care settings, including improved communication and effective “management of transitions and recording of quality outcomes” (OECD, 2013, p. 214);
  • enhanced coordination between health and social care practices that help to reduce possible failures caused by medication errors (e.g. electronic health records and integrated information systems can be used to collect, monitor and share information on the clients in need of health and social care and improve communication between stakeholder groups and organizations involved in care delivery) (OECD, 2013);
  • improved living of individuals involved in health and social care, reducing any possible health and safety risks through effective use of new technologies, such as social alarm systems, video-monitoring systems and different types of electronic sensors (OECD, 2013, p. 214).

Analysis of legal considerations in the use of ICT impact on health and social care settings

There are certain legal considerations in the use of ICT impact on health and social care services. According to researchers, “the success of ICTs, or any technology, fundamentally depends on the cultural relevance of the application”(Rattle, 2010, p. 147). Health and care professionals should support the evolution of the ICT through specific cultural understandings and practices. Not all cultures incorporate the ICT in health and care field (Rattle, 2010).

Although the ICT can provide benefits to health and social care field, but “these benefits depend on broad adoption of technology not just by super-users or technologically aware”(McCann & Bryson, 2009, p. 337). Special attention should be paid to diagnostic and health monitoring area that requires the application of the ICTs. Because of budget cuts in health and social care field, there have been found a considerable gap in development of “what is possible and what is being used” (McCann & Bryson, 2009, p. 337). Besides, many health and social care professionals fail to understand the real possibilities of ICTs with the existing governmental concerns (McCann & Bryson, 2009; Moonie, N. 2005). In general, the legal considerations in the use of ICT impact on health and social care settings provide positive results because of the massive impact of ICTs on all aspects of health and social care, “from delivering the information people need to lead a healthy lifestyle to providing new tools to design tomorrow’s medicines; from making healthcare systems more efficient and responsive to providing “in the home” and mobile healthcare technologies,” based on the 2008 report of European Commission (McCann & Bryson, 2009, p. 337).

In addition, health and social care professionals should take into consideration ethical and legal issues relating to the use of ICTs in health and social care settings. They should guarantee the privacy of medical data and patient records (Moonie, N. 2005).  As ICTs provide great possibilities for the use of technology as learning tool, the control of ICTs in health and social care settings should be adequate (McCann & Bryson, 2009). Rigby and colleagues (2011) state that “Europe has a commitment to researching and developing health informatics (e-health), though not yet giving a priority to this integration of health and social care” (p. 544). It is recommended to address this problem in the following way:

  • to identify the major ICT needs in the field of health and social care;
  • to develop certain standards for integration of ICTs;
  • to facilitate the planned information access and information sharing practices, modeling a “system of trust where the patient is an active partner and policies are established considering all partners/interests” (Rigby et al., 2011, p. 544).

Conclusion

            Thus, it is necessary to conclude that communication is crucial to effective health and social care services. Communication helps to improve interpersonal relationships, providing health and social care workers with the proper communication skills to effectively support their clients/or service users. The relationship between care workers and their clients is an effective tool for communication. Health and social care users should perceive their care workers as caring, reliable, responsible, emotionally supportive, and empathetic. Communication strategies help overcome any barriers to effective communication process, placing emphasis on cultural factors, beliefs and values of health and social care users. Care workers effectively use standard ICT software packages to support and enhance work in health and social care settings.

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