Older Adults' Interpretation of Nurses' Nonverbal Communication in Cameroon: A Grounded Theory Inquiry.

Communication is central to nursing care. Yet, the nonverbal aspect of communication tends to be neglected or underestimated in nursing studies. Research has shown that older patients interpret nurses' communication messages during the clinical encounter. This article conceptualizes older adults' interpretation of and need for nonverbal communication (NVC) to enhance patient-centered communication advocated by the World Health Organization. The Corbin and Strauss (2015) inductive Grounded Theory approach was used to collect data from 3 hospital units in Cameroon using in-depth interviews with eight older adults, thirteen nurses, and four student nurses between July 2018 and January 2020. Open coding, axial coding, and selective coding were used for analysis, which reveals that interpretations of NVC can be positive or negative. It means that older adults view nurses either as angels or as difficult persons, depending on the nurses' positive or negative NVC and behaviors. These interpretations lead to consequences ranging from a preference for some nurses to noncompliance with care. The results further show that older adults need active listening, humor, and affection from nurses. Information regarding older adults' interpretation of and need for NVC can be used to improve curriculum content and to develop skills in and awareness of NVC with older adults. It is recommended that further research expand on effective nonverbal techniques during COVID-19 times where the meaning of facial expressions and voice inflection can be disrupted.

Nonverbal closed loop communication during COVID-19 pandemic - Proposal of four tick technique.

This COVID-19 pandemic has posed difficulty in verbal communication among health-care workers with usage of respirators and personal protective equipments. We propose a four tick technique for the nonverbal closed loop communication in health-care settings with limited resources such as low and middle-income countries. It is simple, easy to learn, train, effective, ensuring patient safety and can be extended to nonhealth-care settings and in electronic form.

Patient electronic communication data in clinical care: what is known and what is needed.

The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and physical distancing guidelines around the world have resulted in unprecedented changes to normal routine and increased smartphone use to maintain social relationships and support. Reports of depressive and anxiety symptom are on the rise, contributing to suffering among people-especially adolescents and young adults-with pre-existing mental health conditions. Psychiatric care has shifted primarily to telehealth limiting the important patient nonverbal communication that has been part of in-person clinical sessions. Supplementing clinical care with patient electronic communication (EC) data may provide valuable information and influence treatment decision making. Research in the impact of patient EC data on managing psychiatric symptoms is in its infancy. This review aims to identify how patient EC has been used in clinical care and its benefits in psychiatry and research. We discuss smartphone applications used to gather different types of EC data, how data have been integrated into clinical care, and implications for clinical care and research.

Communication in the intensive care unit during COVID-19: early experience with the Nightingale Communication Method.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the utility and frequency of use of the Nightingale Communication Method, during the early operational phase of the Nightingale Hospital London (NHL) 4000-bed field hospital's intensive care unit. DESIGN: Survey-based cross-sectional assessment. SETTING: The intensive care unit at the Nightingale London hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Staff working in the clinical area and therefore requiring full personal protective equipment (PPE). INTERVENTION: Survey of all staff members sampled from a single shift at the Nightingale Hospital. This investigated perceived utility and actual use of identification methods (name and role labels on visors and gowns, coloured role identification tapes) and formal hand signals as an adjunctive communication method. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Self-reported frequency of use and perceived utility of each communication and personnel identification adjunct. RESULTS: Fifty valid responses were received (72% response rate), covering all clinical professional groups. Prominent name/role identifications and coloured role identification tapes were very frequently used and were perceived as being highly useful. Formal hand signals were infrequently used and not perceived as being beneficial, with respondents citing use of individual hand signals only in specific circumstances. CONCLUSION: PPE is highly depersonalizing, and interpersonal identification aids are very useful. Despite being difficult, verbal communication is not completely prohibited, which could explain the low utility of formal hand signals. The methods developed at the Nightingale hospital have enhanced communication in the critical care, field hospital setting. There is potential for wider application to a variety of healthcare settings, in both the current situation and future pandemic scenarios.

Gender Effect on Political Leaders' Nonverbal Communicative Structure during the COVID-19 Crisis.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been intense interest in political leaders' nonverbal communicative structures (NCS) during televised appearances. This study analyzes the effect of gender on leaders' NCS and presents theoretical and analytical frameworks of gendered NCS. We analyzed 20 televised appearances by 10 heads of state (five males and five females) from democratic Western countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings revealed that gender had a significant effect on leaders' NCS, indicating that leaders presented NCS that corresponded to their gender. Male leaders' masculine NCS included competition, warning, threatening, and scaring behavior, broad proxemics, tension leakage, and illustrative gestures, while female leaders presented feminine NCS of cooperativeness, emotional communication, empathy, optimism, eye contact, and flexible expressions. Furthermore, the effect of gender on leaders' NCS had an interaction effect with the situation of the pandemic, indicating that countries with a female leader had fewer diseased and severe cases and more calmness and healing NCS. The conclusions present theoretical and analytical frameworks that explain the central effect of gender on contemporary leaders' NCS. This study develops advanced distinctive profiles for male versus female leaders' NCS of emotions, cognition, and behavior during a crisis.

"Masking" our emotions: Botulinum toxin, facial expression, and well-being in the age of COVID-19.

BACKGROUND: The globally devastating effects of COVID-19 breach not only the realm of public health, but of psychosocial interaction and communication as well, particularly with the advent of mask-wearing. METHODS: A review of the literature and understanding of facial anatomy and expressions as well as the effect of botulinum toxin on emotions and nonverbal communication. RESULTS: Today, the mask has become a semi-permanent accessory to the face, blocking our ability to express and perceive each other's facial expressions by dividing it into a visible top half and invisible bottom half. This significantly restricts our ability to accurately interpret emotions based on facial expressions and strengthens our perceptions of negative emotions produced by frowning. The addition of botulinum toxin (BTX)-induced facial muscle paralysis to target the muscles of the top (visible) half of the face, especially the corrugator and procerus muscles, may act as a therapeutic solution by its suppression of glabellar lines and our ability to frown. The treatment of the glabella complex not only has been shown to inhibit the negative emotions of the treated individual but also can reduce the negative emotions in those who come in contact with the treated individual. CONCLUSIONS: Mask-wearing in the wake of COVID-19 brings new challenges to our ability to communicate and perceive emotion through full facial expression, our most effective and universally shared form of communication, and BTX may offer a positive solution to decrease negative emotions and promote well-being for both the mask-wearer and all who come in contact with that individual.