Health Communication

Health communication to important to ease anxiety of the patient, eliminate unneeded mistakes, and to allow everyone to know what is expected from them. Some major components of health communication include process, personal goals, independence, sensitivity, and shared meaning.
When communication is defined as a process, it simply means that people are contributing to a constant effort to understand each other and the world around them.
Analysts have noticed that clients address health encounters with a vicinity of goals and expectations. The leading goal of the caregivers is to care for or improve a person’s health, although most caregivers have other goals as well. Some of these goals include preserving time, avoiding frustration, and showing their comprehension. In addition, patients may have several goals including the need to express emotions, to be encouraged, to be forgiven, or even simply being recovered. In other words, how well participants feel their goals have been met is one measure of effective communication.
Even though personal goals are important, the way others work together to arrange their goals and creating understandings is also important. By communicating in a friendly way, patients are more likely reveal scary or embarrassing worries. This can also lead others in a friendly direction. Office workers, family, and patients often influence health communication equally as doctors.
Good communicators have the value of sensitivity. When being sensitive to other’s feelings and expectations, health communication is expanded. Sharing the same meaning also contributes to successful communication.
Doctors are not mind readers, so if there is something not agreed upon, patients need to speak up. With shared meaning, everyone will be on the same page.
Without these components, time could be wasted, trust may not be established, and healthcare organizations can not improve new ideas.
Reference
Establishing A Context For Health Communication by