Application of six-step standard communication process in nursing communication with elderly lung cancer patients

Abstract

Objective To explore the application effect of six-step standard communication process in nursing communication with elderly patients with lung cancer. Methods A six-step standard communication process training was conducted for 38 nurses in the Thoracic Surgery Department of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January to June 2017 selected by purposive sampling. Nurses' Clinical Communication Competence Scale (NCCCS) was used to evaluate the changes of nurses' communication ability with patients before and after training. A total of 38 elderly patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer in Thoracic Surgery Department from January to December 2016 were enrolled as the control group, and during their in-hospital period of time, the nurses had not received the training and their communication was in the conventional way; a total of 35 elderly patients with newly diagnosed lung cancer in Thoracic Surgery Department from July 2017 to June 2018 were enrolled as the observation group, and during their in-hospital period of time, the nurses had already completed the training and their communication mode was based on the six-step standard communication process. The two groups were compared in terms of their scores in Profile of Mood States-Short Form (POMS) 24 hours after getting newly diagnosed (before intervention) , 24 hours before operation (after intervention) , and their nursing satisfaction degree upon discharge. Results After training, nurses' communication ability in difficult situations, emotional perception ability, emotional support ability, basic language communication ability and basic non-verbal communication ability were significantly improved with statistical differences (P 0.05) ; after intervention, the observation group had lower scores in dimensions of depression-dejection , tension-anxiety , anger-hostility , confusion-bewilderment , and fatigue-inertia than the control group with statistical differences (P<0.05) . The observation group had higher nursing satisfaction degree upon discharge than the control group with statistical differences (P<0.05) . Conclusions For elderly patients with lung cancer in Thoracic Surgery Department, the application of six-step standard communication process can effectively improve the nursing communication efficacy, improve patient's bad mood and improve nursing satisfaction. Key words: Lung neoplasms; Aged; Six-step standard communication process; Communication ability; Patient satisfaction