Objective: People in Post-Traumatic Confusional State (PTCS) present with communication difficulties that are well described in literature. However, limited study has been conducted on the experiences of their communication partners. The current study aimed to understand the experience of rehabilitation staff of their communication with patients in PTCS prior to communication partner training (CPT).Methods: Staff on a subacute inpatient TBI rehabilitation unit were invited to complete a 10-item questionnaire. The questionnaire contained quantitative and open-ended text response formats, analyzed with descriptive statistics and content analysis, respectively.Results: 78 interdisciplinary staff members completed the questionnaire. The majority of staff found communication to be difficult and time-consuming with half not feeling comfortable communicating with patients in PTCS. Confidence in communication was not associated with length of clinical experience. The majority of staff reported utilizing strategies to support communication, largely focused on augmenting activities with supportive objects and ensuring patient's comprehension through modification of verbal language.Conclusions: Staff are aware of the need for creating a structured environment for patients in PTCS and less aware of communication-specific strategies aiming at helping patients' expression, which underlines the need to emphasize these strategies as part of CPT in this type of setting.

中文翻译：

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与创伤后混乱状态患者的沟通：康复人员的感知。

目标：处于创伤后困惑状态 (PTCS) 的人存在沟通困难，文献中对此进行了详细描述。然而，对其沟通伙伴的经验进行了有限的研究。本研究旨在了解康复人员在沟通伙伴培训 (CPT) 之前与 PTCS 患者沟通的经验。方法：邀请亚急性住院 TBI 康复部门的工作人员完成 10 项问卷。问卷包含定量和开放式文本回答格式，分别采用描述性统计和内容分析。结果：78 名跨学科工作人员完成了问卷。大多数工作人员发现沟通困难且耗时，其中一半人对与 PTCS 中的患者沟通感到不自在。沟通的信心与临床经验的长短无关。大多数工作人员报告使用策略来支持沟通，主要侧重于通过支持对象来增强活动并通过修改口头语言来确保患者的理解。旨在帮助患者表达的特定交流策略，这强调需要在此类环境中将这些策略作为 CPT 的一部分加以强调。