Nurses’ Experiences in Effective Communication with Dementia

Abstract

Effective communication is important for understanding a patient’s needs. There were yet, a few studies that explored experiences communicating effectively with older people with dementia in an Asian context. This qualitative study explored nurses' experiences of effective communication for older people with dementia. The criterion sampling method was used to select seven nurses with more than five years of experience in dementia clinic. The nurses who assented to participate in this study were included. A semi-structured in-depth interview was chosen for collecting the data. The findings from content analysis found the main categories of nurses' experiences in effective communication were: using techniques, considering individual differences, nurses’ politeness, and creating familiarity. This information is beneficial knowledge for nurses to create a practice guideline for effective communication with Thai older people with dementia.