Age-friendly Primary Health Care Centres Toolkit - World Health ...

AGE-FRIENDLY PRIMARY HEALTH CARE CENTRES TOOLKITII.3.2 General guidelines to consider when providing clinical counsellingIt has been suggested that clinician counselling focused on improved personal healthpractices may be more valuable to patients than conventional clinical activities such asdiagnostic testing (3). The following are general guidelines to consider when providingclinical counselling:1. Counselling should be culturally appropriate. Present information and services in a styleand format that is sensitive to the culture, values, and traditions of the patient.2. Several measures may be taken to improve delivery of counselling:a. Use a variety of resources to reinforce healthy behaviors:i. Display pamphlets, posters and other materials in a range of commonlanguages conspicuously so that they are readily available.b. Short questionnaires to quickly assess patient's needs for counselling (can bedone by non-clinical staff or volunteers).c. A team approach to provide counseling is preferable.d. Provide repeated messages to patients.3. Counselling is a goal-oriented process: apply your expertise to benefit each recipient,directing them to use information in a way that serves best in everyday life.4. Here are 11strategies for patient education and counselling with which PHCproviders should be familiar:a. Frame the teaching to match the patient's perceptions.b. Fully inform patients of the purposes and expected effects of interventionsand when to expect these effects.c. Suggest small changes rather than large ones.d. Be specific.e. It is sometimes easier to add new behaviours than to eliminate establishedbehaviours.f. Link new behaviours to old behaviours.g. Use the authority of the profession in a sensitive way.h. Get explicit commitments from the patient.20