CPD

Ensuring effective communication when undertaking a systematic health assessment

Sandra Fleming Assistant professor intellectual disability nursing, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Éilish Burke Associate professor in ageing and intellectual disability, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Carmel Doyle Assistant professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Karen Henderson Speech and language therapy manager, Cheeverstown Services, Dublin, Ireland

Paul Horan Assistant professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Kathleen Byrne Clinical tutor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Paul Keenan Assistant professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin, The University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

Why you should read this article:

• To understand the importance of the early recognition of health issues in people with learning disabilities
• To enhance your knowledge of the range of communication skills nurses may use to engage service users in a systematic health assessment
• To contribute towards revalidation as part of your 35 hours of CPD (UK readers)
• To contribute towards your professional development and local registration renewal requirements (non-UK readers)

An important element of the role of the learning disability nurse is to support service users to maintain their health, particularly in relation to the early detection of health issues and timely access to appropriate treatments. One way of achieving this is by undertaking a systematic health assessment, of which effective communication is a central component in terms of identifying the person’s communication needs and using appropriate communication methods to meet those needs. Effective communication can engage the person in the assessment process as well as identifying their own experience of their health. This article explains the importance of using a systematic approach to health assessment and describes various elements of communication involved in this process. The authors include a fictional case study to outline how a systematic health assessment works in practice and the range of communication skills nurses may use to engage service users in the process.

Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2023.e2197

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

flemins@tcd.ie

Conflict of interest

None declared

Fleming S, Burke É, Doyle C et al (2023) Ensuring effective communication when undertaking a systematic health assessment. Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2023.e2197

Published online: 11 May 2023

Keywords :

accessible information - communication - communication difficulties - learning disability - non-verbal communication - patients - patient assessment - patient engagement - professional - therapeutic relationships

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11 April 2024 / Vol 27 issue 2

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