machealth.ca
Join Group

McMaster Toolkit on Working with Older Adults

Resources designed for health professionals to help with attitudinal competencies and communication skills that are essential for the care of older adults.

Resources designed for health professionals to help with attitudinal competencies and communication skills that are essential for the care of older adults.

Improving Communication with Older Adults: Tips from the Literature

This is a short article listing suggestions to improve the quality of communication with elderly patients. It gives tips for verbal and non-verbal communication, as well as organizational changes that can facilitate interactions with older adults. All suggestions are evidence-based and easy to apply to any visit. There is also an abbreviated (no explanations) list of suggestions that can be printed, as well as a “visit summary” that can be printed for patients (visit summary is more MD-specific, but a great idea to modify for other professions).