Abstract

Objective: Dementia patients’ communication skills deteriorate with time, which makes it difficult for them to participate in discussions about discharge. Communication issues might be plain to see. However, patients frequently lack a structured support. The purpose of this study was to find out if Talking Mats (TM), a visual communicationsupporting tool, might help patients communicate better at their discharge discussions.

Methods: Twenty patients were randomised to utilise TM prior to their discharge meeting (Talking Mats Group, TMG) or to follow the ward’s routine protocol (Control Group, CG) in a pilot research. Persons attending discharge meetings (patients, personal friends, nurses, and social care staff) in a geriatric unit judged how effectively they felt the patient participated in communication on a visual analogue scale. They also assessed the extent to which using TM had aided them.

Results: Our main finding was an interaction effect in how the four groups of people who attended the meeting (patients, close acquaintances, nurses, and social care workers) rated the three different statements about communication and participation; knowing the patient before the meeting affected ratings of the patient’s communicative participation. The majority of people who used TM said it was useful at the discharge talks. The comparison of groups produced the contradictory conclusion that CG communication was judged as more well-functioning than TMG communication.

Conclusion: While understanding each other is not always possible at discharge discussions, especially when a patient has cognitive impairment, the use of TM was rated as a communication facilitator by those present. Knowing a patient influenced communication ratings, and we concluded that it is preferable to have the person using the mat with the patient also attend the discharge meeting.