Introduction: As in most countries around the world, the population of Slovenia is ageing. The needs of the elderly for care and assistance grow with age, and their abilities to care for themselves decrease with each year, until many can no longer take care of themselves and they need to move to a nursing home (retirement community). The aim of nursing homes should be to provide the best care to their residents. The basic human need to communicate does not disappear with age—like everyone else, the elderly yearn to be heard, understood, accepted and respected. Appropriate use of non-verbal communication by nursing home staff makes it easier for the elderly to express themselves, improves their confidence, self-esteem and well-being, maintains their social interactions, increases their participation in certain activities, as well as decreases the chances of depression and anxiety. On the other hand, using appropriate non-verbal communication also benefits the care workers themselves as it improves their well-being and reduces stress. Purpose: We analysed how the elderly in nursing homes perceive and experience non-verbal communication by nursing home staff. We wanted to establish what experience residents have with the staff’s non-verbal communication and what it means to them. Furthermore, we took a look at what the elderly perceive to be the positive aspects of using non-verbal communication appropriately, as well as the negative aspects of inappropriate non-verbal communication. Methods: To obtain the data for a qualitative research, we conducted in-depth semi-structured interviews with five different nursing home residents. The interviews were recorded, transcribed analysed using qualitative analysis methods. Results: The data from the qualitative analysis were divided into 4 categories with respective subcategories and codes: communication in general, non-verbal communication in the nursing home, residents’ experience with and experiencing of non-verbal communication, and residents wishes and proposals with respect to the non-verbal communication by nursing home staff. Discussion and conclusion: We established that appropriate non-verbal communication by nursing home staff is exceptionally important to their residents. The non-verbal communication of nursing home staff has a tremendous impact on the residents, as its appropriate use increases their well-being, satisfaction and trust, as well as improving their social interaction, self-image and confidence. It increases their participation in certain activities and reduces the chances of conflict, stress, depression and anxiety, thereby improving their overall quality of life. It is occupational therapists whose appropriate non-verbal communication skills can help nursing home residents, improve their relationships, make them feel safe and at home, and thus contribute to greater satisfaction of both residents and staff.
|
