Article

OBJECTIVE: To develop a taxonomy of the environmental factors that influence
communication between patients with communication disabilities and their health
care providers in hospital stroke units. DATA SOURCES:
We conducted a
metasynthesis of 3 qualitative studies conducted by our research team on the
environmental factors that influence communication between patients and health
care providers in hospital stroke units. STUDY SELECTION:
These studies
identified environmental factors which influence communication from the
perspectives of 10 patients with communication disabilities, 10 health care
providers, and by direct observation of 65 patients interacting with health care
providers. DATA EXTRACTION: The findings of each study formed the data for the
metasynthesis. DATA SYNTHESIS: The findings of the qualitative studies were
analyzed and then synthesized using reciprocal translation. The environmental
factors were grouped into 11 higher order categories and 2 overall themes. The
themes were (1) health care providers (knowledge, skills, attitude, experience,
characteristics) and (2) stroke unit structure and processes (patient
opportunities to communicate, family, use of communication aids and equipment,
opportunities to learn, policies and procedures, physical environment).
CONCLUSIONS: Acute stroke inpatients with communication disabilities need
knowledgeable and skilled health care providers to communicate as effectively as
possible. However, there are many environmental barriers and facilitators at the
level of stroke unit structures and processes that also impact on the ability of
health care providers to communicate with patients. Interventions to improve the
communicative accessibility of stroke units need to focus on health care
providers and on the processes that govern the unit.
CI - Copyright (c) 2012 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS