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Introduction

Communication is getting a message across to someone, such as verbally, using hand gestures and other non-verbal methods. Barriers can affect effective communication. There is a range of barriers in communication and interpersonal interaction in health and social care environments. A communication barrier is something that disrupts or stops the message being understood. In this presentation I am going to explain barriers in communication and how to overcome them. The environment in which communication takes place can impact or act as a barrier in effective communication. Setting, noise levels, seating arrangement, lighting, space and time available can all impact on communication. Setting People who use care services interact with care practitioners in their own home, community places, such as doctors, care homes for the elderly and hospitals. If the setting is very busy, there will be little privacy and communication may be affected. The person might not feel comfortable talking about personal situations in a public place like a restaurant or high street. But, if the person can talk in private without other people being able to listen in, interpersonal interaction and effective communication will be more effective. Likewise, people may have few opportunities to communicate in domestic and residential places that don?t have comfortable spaces. So to overcome this it is important to make sure care environments have private spaces as well as shared public areas, so everyone can get the privacy they need. The strategies are being used in health and social care environments. There are private places as well as communal rooms depending on the type of environment. This is a good idea as people can get the privacy they need as in a doctors for example or can be sociable and communicate with others in communal rooms. Although, in some places, there might not be a private or quiet place to go to discuss things, like in a busy hospital with no free rooms, which would not help communicating effectively. ...read more.

Middle

To overcome this, there should be a timed schedule to make sure that the time is used wisely and correctly. And that everything that needs to be done is done within these time limits. This strategy is not being used as effectively as it could be. Time is limited in doctors if they are behind schedule. This means the patient can?t explain fully what the problem is and the doctor might not prescribe the correct treatment. This strategy could be used a lot more effectively, making sure the time slots are as needed. I think a schedule is a good strategy to use if it is kept to effectively, otherwise it will not work. Psychological Issues Psychological issues can be a barrier in communication. Personality, subject and self-esteem are all related to psychological issues. The subject being talked about might be a hard one for that person to talk about, for example in a counselling session or child and residential care homes. The subject could have negative connotations attached to it. This could upset the participant. The person could have had a bad experience related to that subject and therefore do not feel comfortable talking about it. A person?s personality can majorly affect communication. Someone with low self-esteem or those experiencing anxiety or depression can feel threatened and be incapable of dealing with some of the challenges that they could face. Lack of confidence, negative thoughts and a bad mood can all affect a person?s ability to communicate effectively. To overcome these, the person should build up a supportive relationship, for example in a doctors to make the patient feel more comfortable. Focus on positive aspects of the persons thoughts to boost their self-esteem, for example in counselling. Encourage the person to plan their lives; this will help take their mind of negative past issues. And maintain confidentiality to support the person?s privacy. This strategy is being put to use. ...read more.

Conclusion

These strategies are usually being used. Although, sometimes superiors can take advantage, which can lead to a breakdown of communication. I think these are good strategies but they do need to be used more often. Disability Disability can majorly affect good communication. This can be sensory impairments like visual, hearing and speech, and many more disabilities like autism and cerebral palsy. If someone has a hearing impairment, their ability to hear verbal communication will either be not very good or non-existent. This will affect communication in a big way. To overcome this, the person needs to find out the others preferred way of communicating. This could be through lip reading, hand gestures, facial expressions, writing, and cue cards. They then need to adapt to be able to follow this method. Visual impairments make it hard for the person to use non-verbal communication methods as the person may find it difficult or impossible to see them. Therefore, the person needs to use tone of voice, pitch and clarity to communicate effectively. Also, taking into consideration if they prefer Braille to talking, if it is a personal situation. To overcome this, again the preferred method needs to be taken into consideration and used. For disabilities like autism and cerebral palsy, the persons involved might have a preferred method of communicating. This can range from being verbal and non-verbal. And speaking clearly and slowly, using no jargon to get the message across and understood. Again the preferred method should be taken into consideration. Applying to overcoming all of these, they should ask what aids they may need, whether it is Braille letters or hearing aids, and ensuring the environment is appropriate by checking lighting, background noise and seating, as these could majorly impact someone with a disability. These strategies are being used in health and social care settings. People with disabilities are asked their preferred methods and they are put into use. This is a really good strategy to overcoming the barrier of disability. It helps the person feel more respected and helps them to be able to communicate effectively. ...read more.

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