Human physical features and their role in the communication between healthcare professionals and elderly patients ; Influencia de las características físicas humanas en la comunicación del profesional de la salud con el anciano ; Influência das características físicas humanas na comunicação do profissional da saúde com o idoso

This qualitative, exploratory field work was developed in the countryside of the state of São Paulo by healthcare professionals and undergraduate students involved in gerontology non-verbal communication capacity building. The goal was to identify what bodily features could play a role in the effective communication between healthcare professionals and the elderly. The answers were organized and grouped in four categories: healthcare professionals who take care of themselves (answers focused on healthcare professionals' personal care, make-up and lightly scented perfume, biotype, and neat clothes), healthcare professionals who show their feelings/attitudes (answers focused on how healthcare professionals' physical outlook may express their attention, interest, and confidence), healthcare professionals who perceive elderly patients' health conditions (answers including the role played by the elderly patients' social and cultural knowledge and healthy physical appearance), and healthcare professionals who acknowledge the influence of prejudice (with a focus on the types of prejudice that should be considered in elderly caregiving). It was found that the healthcare team should be aware that their physical features can be considered non-verbal language in such a way that their communication with the elderly is more likely to be pleasant, make a good impression, and build confidence. This could build an early link between healthcare professionals and the elderly and eventually play a positive role in communication. ; Estudio de campo exploratorio cualitativo llevado a cabo en el interior del Estado de San Pablo con estudiantes y profesionales del área de la salud que participaron de la capacitación en comunicación no verbal en gerontología. Tuvo como objetivo principal identificar cómo las características físicas de la persona pueden influir en la comunicación efectiva del profesional de la salud con el anciano. Las respuestas se ordenaron y analizaron y dieron lugar a cuatro grupos distintos: profesional cuidándose ...