Running head: CONCERNING LAY CAREGIVING

Course Title Communication in Health Care

Course Identification - COMM 36501

Instructor Dr. Nicole Egbert

Course Completed Spring 2012

Assignment Title Lay Caregiving Paper

Assignment Description For this assignment, we had to find someone who has had to fill the role of a lay caregiver at some point in their lives. This can range from a few months to several years. The purpose was to analyze the communication struggles that take place during a situation like this and how they relate to topics discussed in class. I interviewed my aunt Pamela, whose son severely damaged his knee and was unable to care for himself for three months.

Reflection Being a lay caregiver is often a very responsible-heavy role that many people are reluctant to take. With the increasing number of baby boomers reaching the age where proper health care is vital, knowledge on alternative medical practices is important. Growing up next to my ever aging grandparents, having to constantly check up on them was almost routine. This adds in well with my major due to the health care challenges that our nation is about to endure. While my current interest involves health on the local level, the practice of home caregiving is going to be a viable option in every community. This is one of the reasons I chose this paper to add in my portfolio. This paper represents my knowledge on the communication challenges that are present when you are constantly in charge of someone elses wellbeing. This paper challenged me to attempt to understand the position my aunt was in for three straight months, and how I could put this experience in to writing. Doing slightly more research on health communication outside of our class would have given this paper slightly more depth. Overall, I am satisfied with the result.

CONCERNING LAY CAREGIVER

Concerning Lay Caregiving Brian Boucherle 4/13/12 Communication in Healthcare

CONCERNING LAY CAREGIVING A lay caregiver is someone who takes care of another person who is unable to care for

themselves. This caregiver receives no compensation for his or her work, and tends to be a friend or family member. This type of care works well because trust is already built between the two individuals. The convenience of being in a home setting also reduces anxiety and uncertainty. Although it provides a much more inexpensive way to care for someone, it often reaps a host of negative effects for the lay caregiver. Much is sacrificed by the caregiver in order to benefit the patient. If a lay caregiver is not willing to fully commit to these sacrifices, the experience could end up hazardous for both individuals. The goal of this paper is to show the role communication has with the lay caregiving. I will properly relate the interview questions to the readings and slides that were discussed in class. I will also address the communication skills that are required for a successful lay caregiving experience. The person interviewed took care of her son after he suffered extensive damage to his knee after a bicycle accident. Not being able to walk well and having to rehab his knee reduced his ability to be active. What made the situation more difficult was the childs ADHD. This required the child to be constantly supervised, preventing him from doing something hazardous to his recovering injury. The mother took on the role as a lay caregiver for 3 months until the child was no longer required for immediate supervising. Being a lay caregiver requires a sacrifice of personal, financial, and physical freedom. For most, it requires a person to give up their current place of employment and live a more sedentary life at home. Being an effective caregiver can be challenging as well as rewarding. Many gain

CONCERNING LAY CAREGIVING increased confidence and self-esteem in themselves knowing how much they impacted someones recovery or last remaining days alive. What makes lay caregiving so successful is its ability to utilize a mutualistic relationship when interaction between the caregiver and patient occurs. Mutualistic relationships are becoming the norm in medical encounters due to its ability to increase patient satisfaction, unlike a paternalistic relationship. According to Becoming an Effective Advocate/Caregiver, there is a shift occurring away from this paternalistic model to a more participative patient-centered model of decision making in medical encounters that is accompanied by recognition of the communication needs and responsibilities of the patient in medical decision making (p 166). Contrary to typical physician/patient encounters, lay

caregivers must consider the patients own political, cultural, and personal needs every second of every day. Having an emotional connection with the patient helps the caregiver make more sound decisions based on the person, not the persons disability or illness. We learned several times in class that having a third party member, such as a family member or friend, in a medical interaction can benefit the patients overall satisfaction. Having excellent interpersonal communication skills as a caregiver greatly reduces the chance for miscommunication and uncertainty during encounters. A caregiver with these skills will find interactions to become much smoother and less stressful. A person who enjoys interacting with other people will find it easier to communication with the patient on a daily basis. The interviewed individual claims to enjoy conversing with people even when not inclined to. Since the patient in this situation was the caregivers son, the inclination to communicate was always steady. Those who do not have excellent interpersonal communications skills are more likely to find the whole interaction sour. They are also more likely to become frustrated when

CONCERNING LAY CAREGIVING interacting with a patient and maybe even wish to avoid them. When this occurs, the support provided by the caregiver loses its meaning, and the patient is likely to become depressed by his or her illness. Using superb interpersonal communication skills also involves awareness of nonverbal communication usage. Nonverbal communication uses body language and other cues to communication. This includes facial expressions, posture, eye contact and more. Many say it is

impossible to not communicate, even when being completely silent. Every person uses thousands of nonverbal queues, whether they know it or not. Nonverbal communication plays a role in medical interactions by what is known as nonverbal immediacy. Nonverbal immediacy involves using body language and gestures that show liking and positive emotions towards another person. This includes leaning toward someone when listening and maintaining eye contact. People who use successful nonverbal immediacy are more likely to be evaluated highly compared to those that do not. Its no surprise that physicians and caregivers are becoming more aware of their own nonverbal immediacy. From the consistent observation of a positive relationship between the use of nonverbal immediacy behaviors by people in one-up roles (teachers, supervisors) and positive affective responses by people in one-down roles (students, subordinates) researchers concluded that this pattern should also exist in the physician (one-up) and patient (one-down) relationships (Richmond et al., 2001). Nonverbal communication is obviously a factor many do not consider when interacting with another person. Many people are guilty of using cell phones when talking with someone or not

CONCERNING LAY CAREGIVING maintain eye contact at all. This shows poor nonverbal immediacy, and some may even take offense to the lack of it. Adjusting your tone to a more suitable level is another great use of nonverbal immediacy. For example, when having to care for her son, the interviewed individual would slow down her speaking and abstain from shouting when interacting with him. Stress can do quite a lot to a person mentally, emotionally, and physically. Stress is slowly becoming a serious issue due to the complications that may entail after prolonged stress levels. These can include excess anxiety, insomnia, weight gain, depression, and even cardiovascular

problems. When stress is prolonged for a long duration, burnout often occurs. Burnout will often leave a person exhausted to the point of ignoring everyday problems, including a patients needs. Stress can interfere with a persons cognitive ability when trying to communication with another person. People are more likely to be less patient when caring for someone when stressed. This can cause a lot of unjust anger and impulsive behavior on the caregivers part. There are many ways for a lay caregiver to reduce the amount of stress involved in caring for another person. Changing to a healthier diet and exercising are two great ways to reduce stress without neglecting the patient. Providing health care for another person includes a wide range of factors. Age, sex, and race are a few characteristics that contribute to how medical encounters are handled. One factor that is heavily overlooked is a persons religious and spiritual beliefs. Faith has a strong influence on how a person will react to modern medicine. Physicians have often overlooked this factor only to be presented with an obstacle that inhibits a medical procedure. Even more neglected than religious beliefs is the spiritual side of patients. Many patients spiritual needs are never met,

CONCERNING LAY CAREGIVING thus creating more patient dissatisfaction. Considering the variety of different groups of individuals that are present at every hospital across the nation, being able to take in to account

the subtle differences on how they view the idea of health should be a top priority for doctors and caregivers.

CONCERNING LAY CAREGIVING References Richmond, V. P., Smith, R. S., Jr., Heisel, A. D., & McCroskey, J.C. (2001). Nonverbal immediacy in the physician/patient relationship. Communication Research Reports, 18, 2011216.