Reponse To Kat

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Response

Dear Katelyn, after reading your post I must say that you did an excellent job of explaining the role of effective communication in elderly people. The way you highlighted the points presented in the movie Tuesdays with Morrie is very helpful in understanding the importance of reminiscence modalities in elderly people. In the movie, Morrie was shown as a young boy who has a great interest in sports and performing arts. He also emphasized on how effective communication and family is needed to live a happy life. This helped a lot in understanding the significance of communication in people especially elderly people. As you mentioned in your post regarding strategies to improve effective communication in the elderly, I also agree with you that utilizing senses can facilitate ineffective communication (Williams & Hummert, 2016). I would also like to add that many elderly people suffer from chronic illness or cognitive –an impairment that can hinder socialization (Tarugu & John, 2019). This makes them feel lonely and depressed and can even worsen their chronic illness. Therefore, effective communication helps them feel connected to society.

In your post, you mentioned the importance of family and culture in the context of providing quality care to elderly patients. I also agree that culture can impact a lot on how people take care of elderly people (Mukherjee, 2019). Family can provide support to elderly people who have a chronic illness or have cognitive –impairments. This will help elderly people in accepting their condition and embracing the aging process. It is, therefore, necessary to spread awareness regarding the basic needs of elderly people. Due to a lack of education, people are often unable to take care of the elderly properly. Also, caring for a family member on palliative care is tricky, as you mentioned that people on palliative care might suffer from severe mood swings. So, it is important to treat them using different forms of communication that can only be learned through proper education.

References

Mukherjee, S. B. (2019). Elderly health care: diverse cultural implication. Asian Ethnicity, 1-16.

Tarugu, J., Pavithra, R., Vinothchandar, S., Basu, A., Chaudhuri, S., & John, K. R. (2019). Effectiveness of structured group reminiscence therapy in decreasing the feelings of loneliness, depressive symptoms and anxiety among inmates of a residential home for the elderly in Chittoor district. International Journal Of Community Medicine And Public Health, 6(2), 847-854.

Williams, K., Kemper, S., & Hummert, M. L. (2016). Enhancing communication with older adults: overcoming elderspeak. Journal of psychosocial nursing and mental health services, 43(5), 12-16.