Document Type
Book Chapter
Publication Date
2008
Publisher
Hampton Press
Abstract
The comprehensive geriatric assessment (CGA) forms a cornerstone of geriatric care; the process is designed to assess the complex interaction of biological , psychological, and social challenges often faced by elder patients (e .g ., Extermann, 2003). Using a narrative case study of a patient undergoing a CGA by members of an interdisciplinary geriatric oncology team. I explore some of the communication challenges and opportunities for healthcare providers caring for geriatric patients. My goal in offering readers narratives of geriatric patient-healthcare provider communication-rather than only analysis of those interactions - is to complement typical analysis of research findings with an opportunity to do what Prank ( 1995) called "thinking with" a story, that is, to bear witness to someone's experience and empathize with it. To contextualize the communication issues exemplified in the case study, I begin by defining the CGA, exploring its use by geriatric healthcare teams, providing a brief overview of common communication issues in the geriatric patient population, and introducing the project from which this case study is drawn.
Chapter of
Applied health communication
Editor
Kevin Wright
Scott D. Moore
Recommended Citation
Ellingson, L. L. (2008). Communication within the comprehensive geriatric assessment. In K. Wright & S. Moore (Eds.), Applied health communication (pp. 229-254). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
Comments
Copyright © 2008 Hampton Press. Reprinted with permission.