Barriers to Effective Interpersonal Communication

Barriers to Effective Interpersonal Communication:

Psychological Barriers:

Psychological barriers may include shyness or embarrassment. Sometimes, a patient may present herself or himself as being abrupt or difficult when she or he may actually be nervous. If a patient is already prejudiced before meeting a doctor, this will cause a barrier.

Cultural Barriers:

It should also be noted here that communication barrier is the most familiar obstacle that can be experienced by the health care provider in an actual face to face encounter with patients in a multicultural health care setting, as would a simple human interaction as a direct eye contact which can have implications to some cultural meanings.

Other aspects of culture affecting communication can also include issues such as in the Asian culture wherein there is great respect placed on the eldest male as the head and decision maker of the family, therefore all nursing intervention instructions from the health care provider to the Asian patient should be conveyed only through this eldest Asian male and not directly to the patient.

Language Barriers:

A communication barrier may be present because both parties do not share a common language. Interpreters and translators may be used to good effect in these circumstances. If a patient is deaf or visually impaired, this presents an obvious barrier that needs to be addressed prior to the meeting. Speech impediments or dysphasia as a result of a stroke or other brain problem can present a barrier. The use of jargon and over‐complicated language creates barriers to communication.

Efficient nursing assessment and intervention is very dependent on effective communication, which requires a clear and unobstructed exchanging of thoughts, feelings and experiences between the patient and the health care provider or even among health care providers. When health care providers and patients do not speak a common dialect, the use of an interpreter is often the only alternative means to convey the right message.

Environmental Barriers:

Environmental barriers to communication can include noise and lack of privacy. An environment which is too hot or cold will not be conducive to effective communication. Sometimes in a hospital setting these are the obstacles which negatively influence proper interpersonal relation between the patient and the service providers.