Healthcare Workers

Zambia Ending AIDS Healthworker app – coming soon

Healthcare Workers Are the Key!

Ending AIDS in Zambia will only be achieved with zero stigma and discrimination. This includes discrimination coming from those within the healthcare system. It is you, the healthcare worker, who must play a leading role in linking adolescents and the youth to health services. Your attitude is key in establishing an inclusive and trusting culture within the health service. Protecting confidentiality and treating Adolescents and Young People Living With HIV (AYPLWH) with respect are key elements of adolescent and youth-friendly health services. Being able to deliver on this will be what makes the difference in the fight against AIDS.

What To Do

    • Build trust with the patients that you support.

    • Find out what your patients’ needs and concerns are through active listening, and asking open-ended questions.

    • Your patients’ decision-making can be supported with accurate information, compassion and advice.

    • Make your patients feel comfortable so that they feel that they can share their concerns openly with you.

    • Knowing how to ask good questions and listening to their answers allows you to help and support People Living With HIV (PLHIV).

    • Patients need to know that you will keep everything that they tell you confidential: only then will they open up and share with you.

Your Role

How you interact with people can greatly influence their decisions. This is especially important when it comes to talking to children, adolescents and their caregivers. What you say can change the way that they think about HIV, how it’s treated and whether or not to continue to take their medication and come to the clinic regularly.

The same is true for attempting to educate individuals, particularly young people, about preventative techniques such as PrEP, condoms, and VMMC. It can be difficult to assess behaviours with which you disagree, but you must do so for the health and safety of your patients. Only then will you be able to gain their trust and provide them with the chance to safeguard their sexual health.

Building Trust

As a healthcare worker your role is not to tell people what you think they should do. It’s about trying to understand what people’s problems are, and with compassion and support, help them to work the process out for themselves.

1. Confidentiality

No matter who it is, a child, adolescent, or an adult, do not tell anybody else what you have been told, not even their caregivers or another healthcare worker. When a person feels they can trust you to keep what they tell you confidential, they will trust you and communicate more freely with you. This also means that any information provided by a caregiver is kept private and not disclosed to the child or adolescent in their care. To disclose any information about a child, you must seek consent from the parent.

2. Empathy

This entails placing oneself in the shoes of others and imagining how they may be feeling. This does not imply feeling sorry for or sympathy for someone; rather, it means understanding another person’s feelings, which will allow you to exhibit genuine compassion. When someone feels understood and supported, they are more willing to discuss their concerns.

3. Non-judgemental

We all have different perspectives, beliefs, and emotions. Don’t let your own emotions and beliefs get in the way of providing the care that everyone deserves. Avoid using words like ‘right,’ ‘wrong,’ ‘bad,’ ‘good’. You should focus on supporting them and the options available to them, rather than what they may have done ‘right’ or ‘wrong’.

4. Non-Verbal Communication

What we ‘say’ when we are not talking is also important in building trust and making people feel comfortable. The position of your body and the tone of your voice are all non-verbal signals that tell people what you are thinking or feeling behind your words. Children are especially good at picking up on these non- verbal forms of communication. Be mindful that you are sending the right message.

  • Make eye contact.
  • Focus on the person you are talking to (no staring out the window or at your watch).
  • Have a relaxed and open posture.
  • Nod your head in acknowledgement.
  • Don’t cross your arms.
  • Smile, when appropriate.
  • Don’t use mobile phones when with a client

5. Reflective listening

This is repeating back to the person their feelings and words as you understood them.

  • Allow the patient to ‘hear ’their own thoughts and to focus on what they said and felt.
  • Show the person that you are trying to understand their thoughts and feelings.
  • Encourages them to keep on talking.

Remember it’s not about you asking more questions but allowing the speaker to feel understood; it gives them the chance to focus their ideas and direct their thoughts.

Example

AYPLHIV: “I don’t understand which treatment to start; Mum says one thing and Dad says something different.”

Listener: “Your parents make you feel confused about what’s best for you?”

6. Active Listening

Active listening involves listening with all your senses. It is important to be ‘seen’ to be listening, otherwise the person may think that what they are saying is uninteresting to you, or unimportant.

Active Listening Tips:

  • Small smiles and nods of the head can be powerful in showing that you are hearing and understanding what the person is saying.
  • Saying things like ‘OK’, ýep’ ‘mmm’ can show that you are listening.
  • Try not to interrupt when the person is talking.
  • Allow them time to cry if that’s what they want to do.
  • Ask a few relevant questions and statements to help clarify what the person has said.
  • Remember a few key points from previous conversations.
  • Summarise what has been said in a clear and logical way, giving the person the chance to correct you if necessary.

7. Ask Open-Ended Questions

Open-ended questions allow people to express themselves more. For example: asking questions like, “Tell me about the time…” or, “What did you think about…” makes it easier to start a discussion. If you ask a closed question like, “Did you want…” or, “Do you like…” the chances are that you will get a one word or short answer.

So, open-ended questions give you the chance to hear more about people’s fears, concerns and motivations, and better understand what lies beneath the surface.

Refer to the health worker app for more in-depth guidance and training on Communication skills.

Remember, how you communicate will change depending on who you are communicating with. If you are talking to an adolescent, you will use different tools than if you are talking to an adult, to help them to open up.

However, there are some basic principles that you should always keep in mind when communicating with people of any age:

Honesty:

This is the best way to build trust.

Respect:

Don’t let your own beliefs influence how you treat others.

Participation:

Regardless of age, everyone should be involved in the decisions about their prevention and/or treatment.

Confidentiality:

Without confidentiality people will be discouraged from seeking your help.