More than communication skills: Experiences of communication conflict in nursing home nurses

Context: Communication conflicts are inevitable in nursing homes. Understanding communication conflicts experienced by practising nurses could provide insights to guide the development of sound communication education programmes. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of nurses in nursing homes of communication conflict in encounters with nursing home residents and their families in Taiwan. Methods: Data were collected from April 2010 to December 2011 through audiotaped, individual, in-depth interviews with 26 nurses at five nursing homes in Taiwan. Data were analysed according to van Manen's interpretive phenomenological method. Results: Data analysis revealed that nurses' experiences of communication conflicts during encounters with nursing home residents and their families could be categorised under three themes: differences in perspectives of nursing home services; differences in views of nurturing health, and mediation between family members and others. Conclusions: The findings of this study can be considered by clinical educators and policymakers when designing communication education programmes for nurses and other clinicians. These programmes should include ways to increase nurses' independent thinking in settings in which power differences exist, as well as their cultural sensitivity as embodied in Leininger's culture care theory. These programmes should also include education in telephone communication and alternative methods of communication (e.g. videoconferencing).