In a Manner of Speaking: Communication Between Nurse Aides and Older Adults in Long-Term Care Settings

Abstract

Older adults in long-term care facilities have few opportunities for emotionally meaningful social interactions with noninstitutional social ties; yet having such relationships is a basic human need that affects well-being. Among institutional social ties, affective communication can enhance relationships between residents and nurse aides, who provide most of their care. This naturalistic study identifies types and examples of nurse aide-initiated communication with long-term care residents during mealtime assistance in the context of residents' responses. Verbal and nonverbal communication from videos of nurse aides and residents in two skilled nursing facilities (n = 17) and an assisted living facility (n = 6) were transcribed. The transcripts were coded and the data were organized into categories using grounded theory methods. Although substantial content emphasized instrumental communication (i.e., prompts to eat and/or drink), 4 types of affective communication initiated by nurse aides emerged: “personal conversation,” “addressing the resident,” “checking in,” and “emotional support/praise.” These results suggest that affective verbal communication needs further development in terms of scope and depth to optimize residents' well-being. The specific examples of nurse aides' affective verbal communication with residents from these findings can be incorporated and expanded on in nurse aide training programs to improve the way nurse aides relate to residents during care provision.