Caregivers’ Desired Patterns of Communication with Nursing Home Staff— Just TALKKK!

Abstract

Individuals with cognitive impairment often represent a significant percentage of the residents in a nursing home nurse's care. With years of experience caring for their placed family members, caregivers of these residents are often experts in knowing the resident's needs, habits, behaviors, and moods. Caregivers often wish to convey this insider knowledge to nursing home staff. Furthermore, communication with caregivers promotes trust that personalized, safe, and effective care occurs when they are not there. Based on an interpretive study of the experiences of caregivers who place a family member with Alzheimer's disease in the nursing home, six preferred patterns of communication are presented in this article. The six patterns are represented by the acronym TALKKK (tell them; ask them; listen to them; know their family member by relating and communicating; be knowledgeable about dementia, its progression, dementia-specific care, and commonly used medications; and share that knowledge with them).

Preserving personhood of individuals with advanced dementia: Lessons from family caregivers

“…For example, the use of caregiver stories, such as those provided in this article, provide specific exemplars for discussion during an educational activity. Other interventions for preservation of personhood in the long-term care setting include encouraging family members to bring in photos and personal items, and to share their knowledge 9 about the routines, moods, behaviors, wants, and needs of the person with dementia. Promising techniques to create or enhance awareness of the personhood of residents with dementia and foster relationships include the use of drama 17 , storytelling 18 , and metaphors 19 .…”

“…Photos, personalized items, stories, and observations from family members can foster understanding of the resident’s past, relationships, needs, and preferences. One study of family caregivers’ experiences following long-term care placement found that caregivers desired to be asked for their knowledge about the needs, behaviors, and routines of their family members and to be listened to when they offered advice 9 .…”

‘I Think the Carer-Partner Dichotomy is Always Interesting’: Tensions in Health Professionals’ Engagement with Spousal Care givers of People with Parkinson's

“…While the HPPs’ expressed their deep appreciation and respect for the partners, who provide support over an extended period of time, they were caught in tension about how to support this. The literature has revealed that care givers find it meaningful to be recognised, valued and respected in their engagement with health professionals (Birgersson & Edberg, 2004; Jenkinson et al, 2012; Lindahl et al, 2011; McLaughlin et al, 2011; Palmer, 2012). Unfortunately, the acknowledgement and admiration expressed by HPPs in the current study did not always align with the experience of spousal care givers in the literature, or in Bolland et al (2015).…”

Forgotten, silent, and overruled: Hearing the voice of the nursing home patient

“…9 The TALKKK acronym can remind physicians about process-oriented communication with families (see Figure 2). 19 Prior to facility placement, family members were often caregivers, so physicians should involve the family in treatment decisions or recommendations. 9 Families respond well to a physician who knows their loved one and demonstrates effective bedside manner.…”

“…9 Families respond well to a physician who knows their loved one and demonstrates effective bedside manner. 19 Many physicians will need training and observed practice to develop appropriate bedside skills when working with older adults.…”