Unit 1: P2

Building positive relationships in Health and social care

In this assignment, I will be explaining the several factors that influence building positive
relationships in health, social and childcare. A positive relationship is a healthy
connection between two or more individuals (Classroom notes, 2023). These
relationships consist of “meaningful interactions that result in positive emotions such as
contentment, enjoyment and a sense of wellbeing. In health, social and childcare
positive relationships are important as they ensure the professional can meet the
patient’s requirements and needs (WJEC CBAC LTD, 2019). In these settings, the
professional must also consider their relationship between themselves and the patient’s
family as this can also promote and influence the individual’s recovery. However, there
are five factors that can influence the forming of these relationships. For example,
communication factors, this is the process of conversing in which you exchange
information. Communication factors include verbal,non-verbal and written
communication. Cultural factors is where individual differences affect the building of the
relationship, for example: religion, language or beliefs. Environmental factors are when
the physical and social conditions like lighting, noise,setting or experiences and
education levels can bias a relationship. Having different beliefs and values can also
influence the building of a relationship in health and social care, these are known as
spiritual factors. Physical factors like conditions or physical disabilities may also impact
the relationship between a professional and their patient/patient’s family.

Femi’s Case study

In Femi’s case, communication factors may have an impact on the relationship between
himself and his daughter.The ability for Femi and Mercy to effectively communicate
whether it is verbally, nonverbal or written is vital to promoting Femi’s health as a
dementia patient. It is common to have hearing problems among dementia patients
making it more difficult to communicate and comprehend certain information
(Alzheimer's society, N.D). Therefore, Mercy could avoid using medical jargon when
conversing with her father to ensure he’s understanding what is going on in emergency
situations or medical appointments to avoid further confusion and disorientation which is
commonly seen among dementia patients. The avoidance of medical jargon should also
be considered when it comes to written communication for example if Mercy had to
update Femi’s records with the correct information, this will certify Femi receives the
right care which may help him feel valued (Classroom notes, 2024). For instance,
referring to a ‘Cerebrovascular accident’ as a ‘stroke.’ This will guarantee that Femi
feels understood which could strengthen his relationship with Mercy. When Mercy
communicates with Femi, she could also consider ‘SOLER’ when assisting Femi’s
needs. For example, leaning in when he’s expressing any of his concerns or needs.
This comes under verbal and non-verbal communication. This ensures Femi sees her
genuine interest in helping him and assisting his necessities as dementia patients are
prone to getting lost during conversations due to disinterest, therefore eye contact and
leaning in to speak to him may encourage him to maintain a conversation going.
Mercy’s failure to uphold these standards of care could potentially regress their
relationship as dementia patients are particularly dependent of their carers meaning her
support and validation towards Femi is essential as not only will their relationship
nourish from their trust, but Femi’s wellbeing will most likely improve.

Another factor that could affect Femi’s ability to form and maintain a positive relationship
between himself and his daughter Mercy would be physical factors which refers to the
dementia he suffers from itself and the influence it can withhold on their relationship.
Suffering from dementia comes with many detriments for example, visual perception,
difficulty stabilising behaviours or moods (Hussain and Schott, 2016). Dementia patients
may also need guidance in decision making and planning as it’s a common difficulty
among individuals with dementia. It is vital for Mercy to consider the importance of
validating Femi’s feelings as many individuals with dementia feel invalidated when they
are spoken down on or belittled. Its also essential that Mercy in incredibly involved in
Femi’s worries as dementia patients commonly feel like their concerns are overlooked
which can lead to depression and misinterpretation. For Mercy to maintain a positive
relationship between herself and her dad she must reinforce these measures, this may
also promote her father’s recovery. The absence of Mercy’s involvement and
understanding into her father’s condition will inherently deteriorate Femi’s health and
their positive relationship overall would become unhealthy for both parties if Mercy
doesn’t play her part as Femi’s primary caregiver appropriately.

Ellie’s Case Study

Similarly to Femi’s case, communication factors can also promote Ellie’s ability to build
and maintain positive relationships between her social workers, parents and peers In
the nursery environment . Ellie’s social worker should consider her pitch, tone and
volume when verbally conversing with Ellie to ensure she doesn’t become agitated or
feels uncomfortable. Children who suffer from Down-syndrome usually demonstrate
delays in learning verbal communication and typically show interest in communicating
non-verbally (DSE, N.D). To encourage Ellie to communicate effectively, Ellie’s
social/key workers could introduce Makaton which is a special adaptation that doesn’t
necessarily require verbal communication and is typically used in written or non-verbal
communication. Makaton is a language that uses symbols and speech commonly used
among individuals with autism, people who suffer from cleft lip palate and individuals
with down syndrome as they are all prone to struggling with speech clarity. If possible,
Ellie’s social/key worker should consider introducing Makaton to the whole nursey
(children and staff included) therefore Ellie can communicate with anybody non-verbally.
This will promote Ellie’s development and involvement as it provides an alternative way
of expressing needs which will reduce her frustration or sadness when being
misunderstood while expressing her needs.

Secondly, another factor that can influence Ellie’s ability to form positive relationships
are the physical environmental aspects such as lighting and noise and certain scents.
(Classroom notes,2024). Being in a nursery exposes Ellie to all sort of scents from
bodily fluids to different foods and substances. Ellie may find these smells like vomit
incredibly triggering as it can bring a nauseous feeling upon her and make her not want
to return to her nursery. The staff not being able to remove the smell from Ellie’s
environment could also lead to tantrums and other behavioural issues which would
negatively impact Ellie’s relationships as she may begin to see going to nursery as
unpleasant. This could lead to mistrust towards Ellie and her social worker as she
happens to be in the environment in which Ellie feels uncomfortable. Physical
environment factors like noise can be extremely difficult to avoid in a nursery as children
are usually unaware of the need to control their noise levels. In order to maintain Ellie
calm when it comes to loud noises in the nursery as it can be difficult to tolerate for a
child with down syndrome, Ellie’s social worker could consider noise cancelling
headphones for Ellie to wear whenever she finds the noise in the nursery being
unbearable. Additionally, in a children’s nursery social factors may hold a particular
significance as Ellie has down syndrome. This can influence the ability for Ellie to form
positive relationships as children with down syndrome have difficulties, adapting and
understanding NEW and unfamiliar environments in the nursery, Ellie may need to
adopt social skills and inclusivity which would be something she’s not used to at home
as the environment is new to her. Ellie social worker must take this into consideration,
when forming her positive relationship with Ellie, as she will need to gain Ellie‘s trust to
encourage the growth of their new positive relationship to promote Ellies future quality
of life and understanding of new environments. For example, if she were to go to
primary school, she would need to apply the social skills that she adapted from the
nursery into fitting into her new primary school. This act is fundamental as Ellie may
start to feel reluctant to sharing her needs and concerns to her social worker. If their
relationship looks trust which would lead to an unhealthy relationship between the two.
Furthermore, the lack of trust would lead to future misunderstandings and uneasy
interactions.

It’s important to consider all these factors when establishing factors that affect the
forming of positive relationships as not all impacts are easily resolvable and can
negatively impact not on the individual’s wellbeing but their recovery as well. It is vital to
keep an eye out for them as they may not always be obvious prior to their exposure to
the individual which could end badly depending on the circumstance.

Reference list:

Alzheimer's society. [2024] Communicating and dementia [Online] [Accessed on 22nd

DSE [N.D] Development and learning [Online] [Accessed on 25th January]

Ferreiro Peteiro, M., Adams, J., Riley, M., Wedlake, P., Rogers, S. (2016) Cambridge
Technicals Level 3 Health and Social Care. 1st ed., London: Hodder Education.

Husain and Schott. (2016) Oxford Textbook of Cognitive Neurology and Dementia.
Oxford University Press:Publisher
WJEC CBAC LTD (2019) The importance of developing positive relationships [Online]
[Accessed on 22nd January]
http://resource.download.wjec.co.uk.s3.amazonaws.com/vtc/2018-19/HSC18-19_2-1/
_multi-lang/unit06/2-importance-of-developing-positive-relationship.html