Clinical Yarning Newsletter

Cultural Learning: Clinical Yarning 
 
Effective clinical communication is key to empowering clients to take ownership in their health care. However, cultural and language differences between clients and clinicians often pose challenges to successful healthcare delivery, particularly for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients.
 
In an appointment, breakdown in communication can rapidly result in clients disengaging in conversation, missed information and/or strained relationships with health care staff. This can result in gaps in the quality of healthcare received by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients. 
 
What is Clinical Yarning?
 
Clinical yarning is a client-centred approach to improve clinical communication by integrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural and contextual preferences with biomedical aspects of health.
 
The goal is to improve the quality and cultural security of care. This helps to create trust, understand the client’s needs, helps the client understand information about their health, and allows them to make an informed decision about their care.
 
The Three Key Components of Clinical Yarning:
 
1. Social yarn: Building interpersonal relationships and establishing trust by having two-way conversations on life experiences and showing genuine interest in the client. 
2. Diagnostic yarn: The clinician facilitates and interprets the client's health narrative by using open-ended questions, actively listening to the client's story, and allowing for moments of silence or culturally appropriate mannerisms.  
3. Management yarn: Aiding clients in understanding their health issues using visuals, metaphors, and plain language. This collaborative approach helps empower clients and encourages understanding and ownership of a mutually agreed-upon health plan.
 
HAPEE Audiologist Anri Barnard reflects on her experience using Clinical Yarning:
 
"My practice underwent a transformative shift when I discovered clinical yarning. It became the cornerstone of my appointments, enabling me to forge meaningful connections with families and foster collaborative treatment decision-making. Social yarning became my starting point, a means to discover common ground with each family. I try to relate results to experiences families have shared with me and use conversational silences as a tool to allow families time to process, think, and answer any questions."
 
In Summary
 
Evidence supports the clinical yarning approach in improving client-clinician communication. By embracing this holistic method there is potential for stronger relationships between clinicians and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clients and improved quality of care.
 
Interested in Learning More?
 
Check out the Clinical Yarning eLearning program to hone your skills in this effective communication approach.

You can also read more about how the FNS team is aiming to improve Clinical Yarning practices throughout Hearing Australia here: https://hearingcomau.sharepoint.com/sites/myhub?newsId=964
 
Sources: Publications - Promote and practice - Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet (ecu.edu.au), Course: Clinical Yarning (uwa.edu.au)