Introduction- this report includes how factors effects communication and ways of overcoming communication barriers, it also has alternative forms of communication and human aids and tell you how important is it in health and social care.
Factors that Effect Communication
The one thing that can effect communication is when someone is from a different country and doesn’t know how to speak your language or use sign language, they may not be able to contact you or give you any information that they have been given by someone else trying to help them.
Another thing that can effect your communication is Jargon. Jargon is used by professional person as a small way of saying things that are hard for the others to know. Doctor mostly use Jargon if for example a doctor is telling a patient that is a small child and says that you have gastroenteritis the child won’t be able to understand what have been said so it is important that the doctor use easy and simple words like you have tummy bug so the child understands.
Slang- is an informal way of communicating with someone using informal words. Not everyone uses this language, if for example a healthcare says’ what’s up’, the other person won’t understand what the person have said.
Dialect- when some people use different words for everyday things or expressing their feelings, this also depends on the area of the country they are from. In some areas in England some people will say ‘nowt’ instead of nothing or ‘summat’ instead of something. Acronyms are when the words have been shortened. In health and social acronyms are used a lot which can be very confusing. Sometime people don’t recognize that not every one around them understand what they are saying and the person who doesn’t understand may feel left out and people can mistakes really quickly. A health care professional might say that you need to go to NHS which means National Health Service. This is also related to jargon. A cultural difference is when the same thing means different in two cultures and it is very difficult to communicate. In some western culture a male and female shake hands to say hello which is respectful but in other culture like East Asia male and females are not allowed to shake hand because it is seen as rude. Distress- some people find it hard to communicate when they are distress. If a person is distress they might not understand what have been said and not give attention to details. They might be sobbing and crying away and it will hard for them to communicate. Emotional difficulties- everyone has emotional difficulties sometimes we become upset or happy. Sometime you get upset when something happens if for example you heard bad news about someone deaths or you had argument with you love or someone really close. This can have effect on the person communication. They can misunderstand what the person has said. Health issues- sometime when a person is not feeling well they might not be able to communicate as well as when you are feeling better. This can have distress on your mates and service users. Some people who are in hospitals who are not feeling well may have difficulty in having communication with others. Environment problems- sometime it is hard to communicate with people because of the environment. For example if there are a lot of people and it is crowded in the room the people who are communicating will shout over each other to send a message. It is hard for people to communicate in a crowded room because the person will have to repeat the message about three, four times so they get the message. Ways of overcoming communication barriers
Adapting the environment- this can be done in a lot of ways such as improving the class room environment by having less people in class. If is crowded in the room then you should tell all of them to calm down and talk quietly so the person who is having conversation understands and can hear the other person speak. You can also do this by having less people in the class or tell the two people to sit together and communicate. Understanding language needs and preferences- services providers need to understand the language needs and preference the person who they are supporting. They have to avoid slang, jargon and dialect and use short and clear sentences so the person understands what have been said. Is someone cannot hear the professional doesn’t shout or scream to send a message. They can provide a communicator or an interpreter for signed or spoken language and show pictures or write messages depending on the person difficulties. Using individual preferred language- giving information on leaflets which are produced by public bodies are now written in every language so that it is easy for people to understand that cannot speak English. Is someone cannot speak English and there are a lot of staff who can speak a different language that are preferred so they can help translate. However it is important to ask the service users what their preferred language is so they can write and speak with others.
Active listening- listening to people is not only involves in active listening, you have to listen what have been said and listen to the words carefully so you don’t misunderstand. You have to think about what have been said and what does it mean also answer back without interrupting the person. You can give encouragement by smiling. nodding and saying something like ‘really’ or ‘cool’ so that the person know you are interested in what have been said. Body language- another way of listening to someone is by body language, you can show how you feel like by your facial expression or eye contact. If someone is not interested they will distract the person by doodling or talking to others or may start staring around the room. Eye contact- you can communicate through eye contact making eye contact can send message for example if you look at someone this can send a lot of messages such as interest, friendliness, aggression, or attraction. Proximity is a physical space which is your own space. Sometime if someone is talking to you and they are really close to you may feel uncomfortable. Put in informal situation like talking to you friends they sit next to you so they can have an eye-to-eye contact. You can use physical space to communicate many different nonverbal messages, including signals of relationship, violent behavior, control, or care. Alternative forms of communication
Sign language includes using signs instead of using sounds. You can express you feelings through your hand movement, arm, shapes or position. Sign language is mostly used in communication including families and friends of deaf people or someone who have difficulties in hearing themselves. Technological aids to communicate- there a lot of electronic said that can help people communicate fro example mobile phones to send messages and make calls. We also have computers to send or record something which we can send to anyone around the world. Voice box is also used to turn written words into speech. Use of sign, symbols, pictures and writing- There some common signs that everyone recognise quickly, for example waving you hand can mean hello or goodbye. You can also communicate through pictures and objects for example in a health care centre if there is a fire drill there will be green or green arrows saying which way to go out.
Human aids
Interpreters- if a person only speaks English and can’t communicate with the other person in their language then they would have to tell a professional who can speak their language. Basically it is a person who can translate language. Translator- someone who use translator to change the recorded details such as written word into a different language but they have to express the meaning as well as the words. Signers- communicate using sign language.
Conclusion
People can communicate in different ways and there are a lot of ways on how you used them to talk to others for example if someone is from different country they can use interpreter to translate what they are saying. Bibliography
BTEC Level 2 Health & social care BTEC first, Elizabeth Haworth, Heather Higgins, Helen Hoyle, Sian Lavers, Carol Lewis, book published 2010, published by Pearson Education limited. Pages used 10, 16, 17, 19.
