Interpersonal Competence, Compliance, and Person-Centered Speech: Communication in the Delivery of Nursing Care (Renal, Dialysis)

203 p.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1984.This study sought to narrow the separation of the traditions of nursing and communication theory and research. It was suggested that: (1) in order to link theory and practice more closely nursing models will need to provide a more theoretically-motivated account of the nursing process which furnishes a foundation for assessing the cognitive and behavioral competencies which underlie effective nursing action; and (2) linking the process of nursing with theory and research in interpersonal competence is likely to be an important move in building a comprehensive theory of nursing. The focus of the present study was on the relationship of individual differences in nurses social cognitive development to seven dimensions of person-centered strategic communication behavior. The specific purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship between three core tendencies underlying psychological development (differentiation, abstractness, and integration) and the quality of the communication strategies renal health caregivers employ in attempting to use communication for the purpose of facilitating patient adherence. The results of this study suggested that nurses' level of social cognitive development is likely to be an important factor underlying the ability to adopt a more person-centered interactional orientation. The constructivist approach to communication studies, on which this study is based, appears to be rich in implications for understanding the way in which nurses' natural social cognitive orientation influences the ability to use communication as a resource for accomplishing interpersonal goals and objectives. The social cognition/person-centered communication relationship is discussed in terms of its implications for nursing theory development, clinical practice, and nursing education.U of I OnlyRestricted to the U of I community idenfinitely during batch ingest of legacy ETD