The Role of a Nurse in Promoting Inclusive Communication Strategies

Inclusive communication considers the differences in culture, gender, language, socio-economic status, and the historical situation of individuals the communication focuses on (Callanan et al., 2023). Inclusive communication in healthcare settings is important in creating a supportive care environment that promotes patient-centered and inclusive care. Nurses play a critical role in promoting inclusive communication strategies. One major role of a nurse in promoting includes developing their cultural competence and promoting similar competencies among other healthcare workers. Besides promoting the development of cultural competency among other healthcare providers, nurses as leaders are actively engaged in training others on inclusive communication practices. Cultural competency focuses on ensuring healthcare providers are aware of, understand, and responsive to the cultural perspectives and backgrounds of their patients in terms of beliefs, values, and language (Stubbe, 2020). This ensures the communication will consider and include such individual aspects during the delivery of care.

Another role of a nurse in promoting inclusive communication strategies is getting close to the patient and identifying their communication needs. Therefore, nurses can advise other care providers on strategies to improve communication between them and their patients, including the use of technology, verbal cues, and visual aids as per the patient’s specific communication needs. Nurses also promote inclusive communication strategies by collaborating with other healthcare providers, including collaboration with interdisciplinary teams to advocate for the patients and ensure communication is inclusive. In cases where communication faces barriers due to language differences, such as when providing care to migrant and refugee patients, nurses have been noted to use interpreters to overcome the language barriers (Kletečka-Pulker et al., 2019). The use of an interpreter is an evidence-based strategy to ensure inclusive communication is achieved.

References

Callanan, R. M., Bonds, M. E., Bedrosian, S. R., Laird, S. K., Satter, D., & Penman-Aguilar, A. (2023). CDC’s guiding principles to promote an equity-centered approach to public health communication. Preventing Chronic Disease, 20. https://doi.org/10.5888/PCD20.230061

Kletečka-Pulker, M., Parrag, S., Drožđek, B., & Wenzel, T. (2019). Language barriers and the role of interpreters: A challenge in the work with migrants and refugees. An Uncertain Safety, 345–361. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72914-5_14

Stubbe, D. E. (2020). Practicing cultural competence and cultural humility in the care of diverse patients. Focus, 18(1), 49–51. https://doi.org/10.1176/