Introduction
In order to deliver quality care to patients, care providers must be cognizant of the various strategies and methods that can be used to achieve care objectives. Researching, developing, and utilizing effective communication tools and strategies is one way that nurses can better increase the quality of care they provide patients. This paper will 1) discuss the necessity of applying research findings to implement effective health communication strategies; 2) it will describe patient-centered communication practices that demonstrate cultural competency; 3) it will analyze the consequences and results of low health literacy and express how effective communication can improve health outcomes; and 4) it will explain the need for relevant, accurate, accessible and understandable health information communicated to and from intended audiences to advance the health of the community.

Applying Research Findings to Implement Effective Health Communication

Applying research findings to implement effective health communication strategies is part of what it means to engage in evidence-based practice. As Kreps (2012) points out, many care providers’ communication methods are guided more by “good intentions, precedent, and expedience than by strong evidence” (p. 5). The problem with this is, of course, that good intentions are no replacement for solid, evidence-based research. The achieved the most desirable health communication objectives, care providers should base their communication methods on the evidence that researchers show works best. For example, nurses are instrumental in helping to guide the decision making processes of patients—but if they are not communicating effectively with patients, the outcomes are likely to be less than satisfactory. Nurses have been found to lack the necessary cultural competency needed to communicate with diverse populations in many cases (Tsoh et al., 2016), which causes them to fail in teaching health literacy or in educating patients in self-care. Effective health communication strategies exist to help nurses overcome obstacles of this nature, but if care providers are not engaging with the research and learning these strategies, they are not going to be providing the type of quality care that patients deserve.

To know what research is current or offers the best evidence-based practice approaches for enhancing communication with patients, nurses must engage in continuous education. Without continuous education as a staple of their nursing careers, nurses cannot develop themselves both personally and professionally to meet the ever evolving challenges of the nursing profession. For instance, as the world becomes more and more globalized, the diversity of the patient population alters and changes. The efficient and effective nurse will have multiple comprehensive communication strategies to draw upon to address these challenges—but only if the nurse engages in continuous education and stays abreast of what researchers are doing in the field to help them advance their practice. Some such communication strategies that nurses will want to focus on include patient-centered communication practices that demonstrate cultural competency, which this paper will now discuss.

Patient-Centered Communication...…that the patient will need to make the appropriate health decisions, take the necessary steps to engage in self-care if possible, and more effectively monitor and maintain one’s own health. Increasing patient’s health literacy depends upon the nurse’s ability to communicate effectively and efficiently.

The Need for Relevant, Accurate, Accessible and Understandable Health Information

Nurses must understand the need for relevant, accurate, accessible and understandable health information communicated to and from intended audiences to advance the health of the community. It is through this type of communication that community health is enhanced and improved. As Kite, Foley, Grunseit and Freeman (2016) show, one effective way to communicate relevant, accurate, accessible and understandable health information to the public is through social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. These forms of communication are the most popular of today’s generation and so using them can establish a two-way flow of communication that allows care providers to disseminate information to an entire community and to receive information back as the community can post, share, and message the care providers using the platform.

Conclusion

Keeping in mind the various methods of communication in today’s world is a necessary function of today’s nurses. They must be culturally competent. They must use research and evidence-based practices to enhance their communication methods. And they must help to promote health literacy of individuals and communities by using effective communication strategies.