Introduction to Communication in Health Essay

List below the different reasons why people communicate: Communication is an integral part of life. Communication satisfies our constant need to relate to others, and have them relate to us. We use communication for numerous reasons, including; persuading, to seek information, to express emotion. Explain how effective communication affects all aspects of your own work: If you don’t show effective communication the person/people you are communicating to may not understand what it is you are saying/asking. They may also misinterpret what you mean therefore giving you an invalid response. Explain why it is important to observe an individual’s reactions when communicating with them: It’s important to view reactions, because only partially of communication is verbal, meaning that you are gong to be missing out on a large part of communication if you aren’t paying attention to peoples facial and bodily reactions. Face-to-face communication is the strongest and tightest coupled method of communication we have. Read more:  Different reasons people communicate  essay Explain how you have found out about an individual’s communication and language needs, wishes and preferences: Asking the service user, talking to colleagues, reading care plans and medical notes, asking relatives, are the ways to found out about an individual’s communication and language needs, wishes and preferences. List the barriers to communication: Language barrier Psychological barriers Gender barriers Culture barriers Emotional barriers Physical barriers If no ability to form ideas or to use a relative method of interacting with someone. Personal incompetence in communicating in an appropriate way with other people. Use of jargon or slang. Too much information – not able to process everything and take any more information in. Explain how you have identified sources of information and support or services to enable more effective communication. Translation Services – Can help with changing written text from one language to another. Interpreting Services – Can help in converting spoken language to another language. Speech & Language Services – Can support people who have had a stroke and have problems with their speech. Advocacy Service – Can support people who are unable to speak up for themselves. This service tries to understand the needs, wishes and preferences of people, and will argue on their behalf. Explain the term ‘confidentiality’ and how you implement it in your workplace: Confidentiality has been defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) as â€Å"ensuring that information is accessible only to those authorized to have access†. Confidentiality is defined as keeping something secret, specifically relating to private information or communications. Confidentiality relates to the duty to maintain confidence and thereby respect privacy. Under the ethical principle of respect for a person’s autonomy, public health workers have an obligation to respect privacy. Describe situations where information normally considered to be confidential might need to be passed on: Sometimes confidential information about a client may need to be passed on to others. If there is a risk of danger or harm to the client, or other people, if abuse is suspected or if there is suspected misconduct by/of a colleague, in respect of care of a client. You must inform the client why the information needs to be passed on to others, and that it is your responsibility to do so. Explain how and when to seek advice about confidentiality: This will be outlined in company policies and procedures or codes of practice. The Data Protection Act 1998 was made to protect a person’s personal and sensitive information.