An adult client is admitted with AIDS and oral candidiasis manifested by several painful mouth ulcers. The nurse delegates oral care to the unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) and discusses how to assist the client. Which instruction should the nurse provide the UAP?

Choice A reason: Shouting increases volume but may distort speech, worsening comprehension for an older adult with hearing loss. Age-related presbycusis impairs high-frequency sound perception, and shouting can cause discomfort without improving clarity, making this an ineffective communication strategy for the client.

Choice B reason: Over-enunciating syllables may help slightly but can sound unnatural, confusing the client. It does not address the primary issue of processing speed in age-related hearing loss, where slower speech allows better auditory processing, making this less effective than reducing speaking speed.

Choice C reason: Decreasing speaking speed is best, as presbycusis slows auditory processing in older adults. Slower speech allows the client to process sounds clearly, improving comprehension without distortion, addressing the client’s difficulty hearing questions effectively and enhancing communication during the assessment.

Choice D reason: Exaggerating nonverbal expressions aids visual cues but does not address auditory comprehension. Hearing loss requires auditory adjustments, and nonverbal cues alone are insufficient for understanding spoken questions, making this less effective than slowing speech to improve verbal clarity.

Choice A reason: Topical analgesics relieve pain but do not address psoriasis’s underlying inflammation or scaling. Psoriasis involves immune-mediated epidermal hyperproliferation, causing scaly, burning plaques. Analgesics may reduce discomfort temporarily but fail to target the inflammatory process driven by T-cell activation, making this choice ineffective for managing psoriasis symptoms.

Choice B reason: Colloidal oatmeal-based lotion soothes irritated skin but is insufficient for psoriasis, which requires anti-inflammatory treatment. Oatmeal reduces itching in conditions like eczema but does not address psoriasis’s silvery scales or immune-driven inflammation, making it an inadequate choice for controlling the client’s burning, bleeding plaques.

Choice C reason: Topical antifungals treat fungal infections, not psoriasis, which is an autoimmune condition with no fungal etiology. The silvery, scaly plaques result from rapid keratinocyte turnover, not fungal growth, so antifungals are irrelevant, failing to reduce inflammation or scaling in this chronic inflammatory dermatologic condition.

Choice D reason: Topical corticosteroids are effective for psoriasis, reducing inflammation, scaling, and burning by suppressing T-cell activity and cytokine production. They slow epidermal proliferation, alleviating silvery plaques and bleeding. Potent corticosteroids are standard for elbow and palm lesions, making this the appropriate prescription to teach the client for symptom control.