Background The experiences of residents who have communication difficulties such as dysphasia are largely absent from the literature. Aim To illuminate the everyday experiences of four residents with severe communication difficulties living in a residential care setting in the Netherlands. Methodology & Methods A collective case study methodology was used. Seventy-five hours of observation, interview and documentary data was gathered over six weeks. Alternative strategies of communication were developed to enable the co-creation of dialogue between participants and researcher. For example, a participant who could not talk used intentionally created artwork to share her ideas with the researcher. Findings Participants' daily experiences were characterised by struggling against the constraints of the residential setting: having to wait, having unmet needs, experiencing vulnerability and uncertainty. Participants' communication difficulties exacerbated these constraints. Their experiences of struggling were sometimes ameliorated by significant social contact with family or particular staff members, and engaging in enjoyable activities. Occasionally the experiences of enjoying the here-and-now, and being 'seen' as a person by the other, would create beautiful moments in which truly person centred engagement would occur. These moments were neither articulated nor recorded, and were thus invisible after they had occurred. Similarly, the experiences of struggling against the constraints were neither acknowledged nor recorded. Significant experiences in the lives of these four residents were therefore invisible to others. The unifying theme representing the participants' daily experiences was: That which goes unsaid. Discussion It was necessary to develop communication strategies which would by-pass the researcher's assumptions and enable participants to introduce their own ideas and opinions. This ongoing process of co-creation of dialogue required work from, and trust between, participants and researcher. What is new? Expressly seeking the views of residents with communication difficulties Successfully using process consent with participants in this situation Using intentionally created artwork during data gathering in this context What has regional, national or international relevance? The findings indicate that people with communication difficulties may not receive optimal care in residential settings in the Netherlands. Methods are described which could be used by practitioners in their everyday work, and which show facilitators or practice developers how they can help carers to engage in more effective communication with this kind of resident. Additionally, this research contributes to the international discussion about ethical participation of vulnerable people in research.
Based on 13 interviews with Eritrean status holders and professionals in Amsterdam this article explores how paying attention to media skills and media literacies may help gain a better understanding of what matters in exchanges between professionals and legal refugees in the mandatory Dutch integration process. Media literacy needs to be decolonised in order to do so. Starting as an inquiry into how professionals and their clients have different ideas of what constitutes “inclusive communication,” analysis of the interviews provides insight into how there is a need to (a) renegotiate citizenship away from the equation of neoliberal values with good citizenship and recognising needs and ambitions outside a neoliberal framework, (b) rethink components of formal and informal communication, and (c) reconceptualise media literacies beyond Western‐oriented definitions. We propose that professionals and status holders need to understand how and when they (can) trust media and sources; how what we might call “open‐mindedness to the media literacy of others” is a dialogic performative skill that is linked to contexts of time and place. It requires self‐reflective approach to integration, and the identities of being a professional and an Eritrean stakeholder. Co‐designing such media literacy training will bring reflexivity rather than the more generic term “competence” within the heart of both media literacy and inclusive communication.
In this document, we provide the methodological background for the Safety atWork project. This document combines several project deliverables as defined inthe overall project plan: validation techniques and methods (D5.1.1), performanceindicators for safety at work (D5.1.2), personal protection equipment methods(D2.1.2), situational awareness methods (D3.1.2), and persuasive technology methods(D4.1.2).
MULTIFILE
