Review Article
Fukaya Y and Kitamura T
Abstract
We have conducted a series of studies on communication between nurses and elderly patients in geriatric facilities in Japan. The average speech duration per day for elderly people in nursing homes was roughly 4 minutes. The reason for such a short speech duration was that 76% of the nurses’ communication content was composed of “type I” communication (“task oriented” communication) and that “type II” communication (“life-worldly” communication) made up for only 24% of the total. We also analyzed the ways in which “type I” communication constrained spontaneous speech by the elderly whereas “type II” communication tended to promote and encourage it. This article, based on the findings obtained from our research, aims to encourage reconsideration and advancement in the research of nursing communication.