Doctor & Older Patient
What are the specific interventions that can improve communication between doctors and older patients with limited health literary?
Interventions for improving communication between doctors and older patients with limited health literacy: A systematic review
The client would like the results, discussion and conclusion.
The client conducted a search and only found 4 studies that match the search terms. You are required to analyse these studies and search for other studies using the health databases such as CINAHL, PUBMED, MEDLINE AND COCHRANE library. Please use PRISMA flow chart and table. Find below the search terms.
Method:
The study sought interventions and studies that focused on both doctors and patients, especially older patients with limited health literacy, whose aims were to improve communication between doctors and patients with poor health literacy. To find relevant studies, the MEDLINE, PUBMED, CINAHL and Google scholar online databases were searched from the 1st January 2017 until 20th August 2017 using the key words: doctor, physician, patient, elderly, intervention, health literacy, communication challenges and communication barriers.
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
The following inclusion and exclusion criteria were employed:
a) Types of study: Only original articles (including randomized-controlled trials, case-control studies and cross-sectional studies) written in the English-language were included in the review. Reviews were excluded.
b) Participants: Only studies that included patients aged ≥55 years old, or addressed doctors, physicians and nurses, were included. To avoid articles that investigated the impact of language barriers on communication, only articles whose subjects were fluent in English were included.
c) Interventions: Studies that sought to offer interventions to improve communication were included. These studies specifically addressed interventions suitable for older patients with limited or poor health literacy. Such interventions addressed either what doctors can do to improve their communication skills or the role of older patients in improving their interactions with doctors.
