Strategies for Effective Communication with Older Adults

Using effective communication when caring for older adults can help inform assessments, plan care, develop the nurse-patient relationship, and even improve health outcomes. As the nurse, you’ll consider barriers to communication and implement strategies to promote effective communication for individuals and groups of older adults.

Alright, now there are certain barriers to effective communication with older adults to keep in mind. One barrier is ageism, which involves stereotyping and discriminating against individuals based on their age. Ageism can lead to poor health outcomes, like cognitive and functional decline. Elderspeak is a type of ageism which refers to condescending speech patterns used when communicating with older adults. Common instances of elderspeak include using pet names such as “honey” or “sweetie”; substituting collective pronouns such as “we,” like saying, “We are going to eat dinner now”; and speaking to the patient’s family or caregiver rather than the patient.

As the nurse, you can implement strategies to promote effective communication with your older adult patient. These include using open-ended questions, allowing for additional response time, and encouraging storytelling.

Open-ended questions like, “What do you know about your family history?” can help you gather information but may cause some patients to verbalize what they assume you want to hear rather than how they truly want to answer. So, when asking open-ended questions, remember to seek validation of what you hear so you can clearly understand what your patient is telling you.

Now, keep in mind that word retrieval can slow as individuals age. You can provide your patient with the opportunity to answer your questions fully by practicing patience, speaking slower to allow time for them to process what’s being said, and giving them additional time to respond.

Lastly, storytelling can allow your patient the opportunity to share their memories and life experiences. An important piece of storytelling is reminiscing, when an individual recalls key experiences and transitions of their past. Older adults may reminisce verbally or through other mechanisms, like journaling or digital storytelling.

Reminiscing is enjoyable for older adults, and it can promote socialization, reduce depression, and stimulate cognition. To encourage reminiscing, you can practice active listening, limit interruptions, provide reassurance, and use props, like images or songs to stimulate memories and discussion. You can even ask questions like, “What is your most memorable life accomplishment?” or “What are your favorite childhood memories?”

Now, older adults with cognitive impairment can also benefit from storytelling and reminiscing, with modifications as needed. For instance, in patients with dementia, you can focus on the experience of sharing memories, rather than recalling specific dates or times. So, for example, instead of asking your patient to tell you what year they were married, you might ask them to discuss their wedding day.