Person-Centered Communication for Nursing Home Residents with Dementia: Four Communication Analysis Methods

摘要

Person-centered communication recognizes the individual as a person and responds to the individual’s feelings, preferences and needs. This secondary analysis tested four interdisciplinary strategies to measure changes in person-centered communication used by nursing home staff following an intervention. Thirty-nine nursing assistants were recruited from eleven nursing homes and participated in the three-session Changing Talk communication training. Video recordings were collected at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and at 3-month follow-up. Staff communication was analyzed using behavioral, psycholinguistic, and emotional tone coding of elderspeak communication and content analysis of communication topics. Sign rank test was used to compare post-intervention changes for each measure of communication. Post-intervention improvements in communication occurred for each measure; however, the changes were statistically significant only for behavioral and psycholinguistic measures. Methods and results for each communication measure were compared. Implications for future research and use of measures of person-centered communication as a tool to improve care are discussed.