“The first time I wore a mask at work I was surprised by how isolated it made me feel. There was a whole new language to learn in order to communicate effectively with patients and colleagues.”
The use of face coverings in the UK is now required in all indoor public spaces, and in domestic environments where social distancing is required, but not possible. Since the beginning of June, face coverings have also been mandated in healthcare settings. All healthcare professionals, patients, auxiliary workers and visitors are now need to wear a mask, or face covering unless exempted.
No doubt the next few years will produce countless studies into how face masks affect communication in a healthcare setting. For the present though, the evidence remains anecdotal and sketchy as we’re all still learning to adapt our ‘pre-mask’ communication strategies.
Healthcare professionals depend, more than most, on effective oral communication because without it a patient’s recovery can be compromised. Accurate diagnosis, and clear medical instructions are vital to successful care, and are often determined by verbal interactions. There are 5 key components required to achieve clear oral communication:
“Everyone has more difficulty hearing you when you wear a mask, and that makes communication more tiring. It really is exhausting making the adjustments.”
The LDA Research team has been talking to nurses, professional carers and an occupational therapist to find out how they are coping with adapting their communication strategies to the new normal. Most of them talk about how tiring the process of communication becomes, when you take away the old shortcuts. All of them have experienced a range of colleague responses to the problems encountered:
“Lots of colleagues immediately started to adapt the way they were communicating. Others haven’t shifted at all, which makes it difficult for everyone – including patients who tend to get embarrassed about having to keep asking for stuff to be repeated. So they just give up.”
Everyone we spoke to was eager to share their new discoveries, and we were quickly able to put together a list of tips based on professional experience over the past 6 months:
For those with hearing loss, dementia or autism, communication via a mask can be extremely difficult and disorientating. The loss of communicative anchors may lead to an increase in feelings of anxiety or alienation. At the beginning of September the UK government announced the delivery of 250,000 transparent face masks in order to facilitate effective communication. Alternative specialist techniques we heard discussed include the use of written communications, or an alphabet chart.
LDA Research was set up in 2011 by Lucy Doorbar. The close-knit, core team now works with a global network of trusted associates. LDA carries out qualitative research for medical and pharmaceutical clients, medical comms agencies, health market research agencies, management consultants and advertising agencies.