Communication strategies and nurses' interaction with un unconscious patient

Abstract

Technological developments are an improvement to patient's care but it should not be a substitute to the human presence, its touch, look and talk. Taking care of an unconscious patient poses a challenge to an efficient communication. This research aimed to identify and evaluate nurses' interaction strategies when caring for an unconscious patient and to detect the aspects that favour that interaction. It is a descriptive study carried out in a university hospital where the nurses were interviewed. Nursing prescription forms related to the interaction with the patient were transcribed. We conclude that the nurses were able to identify the use of interaction strategies, many of them suggested by the literature, such as to call the patient by name, to inform the patient about the procedures being employed, to avoid comments next to the hospital bed, to reduce noises, to encourage family members to interact with the patient, to soothe the patient using the voice and touch. The strategies identified appear also in the nursing prescription form.