How can people with communication issues get fall prevention information?
Posted Le 5 janvier 2018
Fall Prevention – What about patients with communication problems?
How do patients with a communication problem or language barrier have access to information about Falls Prevention if they can’t understand it in written text format?
Falls put people at risk of serious injury. Learning simple prevention measures is vital, especially as people get older. Yet, many people with language barriers do not enjoy equal access to this information. For example, someone with aphasia - a language problem usually the result of stroke, brain injury or other neurological conditions - may have difficulty speaking, difficulty understanding the speech of others as well as difficulty reading and writing. Though inherently competent, this competence is often masked by the language problem, making it extremely challenging for a patient educator to provide accurate information exchange when communication is so difficult.
How to have successful interactions with patients who know more than they can say
In 2008, the Aphasia Institute (#1) – an education and learning centre for anyone affected by or working with aphasia – took part in an important “Aging at Home” initiative funded by the CLHIN. The aim was to make it easier for patient educators to communicate with clients with communication barriers such as aphasia, limited ability to converse in English or other motor speech difficulties.
After consulting with content experts on falls prevention, the Aphasia Institute developed a pictographic Falls Prevention resource (#2). It provides pictographic supports to facilitate education on danger zones around the house, avoiding falls and tips for staying safe.
How to use the Falls Prevention resource
- It can be used sequentially or any one of the topics can be used on its own
- It can be used to provide/receive general information (for example, while using the “Tips for staying safe” page you want to tell your patient that there are ways to avoid falls):
- While asking your question or making your statement, use a sweeping gesture across the page
- If your conversation partner is stuck on specific details, it may be helpful to use the words “in general” or “for example”
- Have your yes/no/other page (included with the resource) available to confirm responses
- Give your patient time to process what you are saying and time to answer
- In a situation where you want to provide/receive a specific answer and details are important:
- Point to each picture
- Make a mark on the selected pictographic image
- Have your yes/no/other page available
- Give your patient time to process what you are saying and time to answer
This Falls Prevention resource is just one of over 20 resources available in the Working Together Series (#3) to illustrate patient-care information on a variety of topics including diabetes, nutrition, heart disease and many others. Ontario Healthcare Professionals are eligible to download the Falls Prevention resource and other resources in this series for FREE.
The use of specially designed pictographs to facilitate healthcare conversations on complex topics is part of an evidence-based methodology called Supported Conversation for Adults with Aphasia (SCA™) (#4) developed at the Aphasia Institute. SCA™ is a set of techniques that ensures that people who “know more than they can say” can accurately exchange information, opinions and feelings, and feel that their inherent competence is acknowledged. The Aphasia Institute provides SCA ™ core training (#5) in how to apply SCA™ principles to a variety of clinical settings.
How to download the Falls Prevention resource for free
- Fill out a form to access a coupon code: https://www.aphasia.ca/free-resources-for-people-in-ontario/
- Select the Falls Prevention Resource from the Working Together Series – make sure in each case you use the dropdown box to select Downloadable PDF
- Once you select the first item, you’ll see the “Add to Cart” button, a little pop-up with two links, one that says “Go to checkout” and the other that says “Continue shopping”
- After selecting all the PDFs you’d like to put into your cart, click on the “Go to checkout” choice mentioned above
- In the “Please review your order” section, you’ll see a box for entering a coupon code. Put in the code and hit the “Update” button.
- Scroll to the bottom to see the total, which should equal $0.00 if you haven’t added into your cart any non-PDF items.
- Scroll back up and put in your email address, shipping address, billing address and all credit card information that is asked for
- As long as your total at the bottom of the page equals $0.00, your credit card will not be charged
- Once you have completed this process, you should receive a confirmation email, which will contain a separate link for each PDF you selected in your order. You must click each link separately to download the PDFs
- If you appear not to have received the confirmation email, please check your Spam and Junk Mail folders. If the email went there and you plan to order other items in the future, you should add the sender’s email address to your safe list.
- Please note that if your address is outside of Ontario, you will not be able to receive these PDFs free-of-charge
Marisca Baldwin is Education and Learning Coordinator at the Aphasia Institute. She coordinates SCA™ training workshops for healthcare professionals and raises awareness about communicatively accessible resources that help healthcare professionals communicate better with people who ‘know more than they can say’.