Table 1.

Tips for assessing readiness to communicate and adapting communication tools

Asess patient readiness to communicate (note: these do not preclude the patient’s ability to communicate but rather guide communication strategy choices). • Visual and hearing acuity (ensure the use of hearing aids and glasses) • Level of alertness • Presence of delirium or cognitive impairment • Evaluate patient comprehension (ability to follow simple commands or respond to yes/no questions) Adapting communication tools (e.g., visual analog or numeric rating scales)   • In general, large, sans serif (i.e., Arial, Helvetica, Tahoma, Calibri), bolded fonts work best. • Type should be high contrast (i.e., black and white). Colors may be used, but make sure they are iconic to the context (i.e., green = good/go; red = bad/stop). • Visual simplification (i.e., less is more) will promote more accurate responses because of fewer distractions or fewer stimuli to understand. • When possible, print on cardstock and/or laminate the materials for repeated use after cleaning the materials. Present materials in front of the patient, keeping in mind that you, as the assessor, need to know/understand the response. Resources communication with mechanically ventilated patients • SPEACS-2 communication training and toolkit program: https://go.osu.edu/speacs2 • Patient–provider communication network: https://www.patientprovidercommunication.org

Definition of abbreviation: SPEACS-2 = Study of Patient-Nurse Effectiveness with Assisted Communication Strategies.