“Let’s Examine Your Abdominal Region”: A Conversation Analytical Study Of Doctor-Patient Communication

Yıl 2013, Cilt: 1 Sayı: 1, 1 - 12, 11.07.2016

Saye Zibande Melek Pamukoğlu

Öz

In medical care, lack of communication is such a crucial subject which may result in unintended but severe consequences. Employing the theoretical framework proposed by Brown and Levinson (1987), this study was conducted to find out whether or not there are differences in the use and number of the politeness strategies employed in the doctor-patient communication. The effect of three contextual variables, that is, power, age and gender were also studied to contribute to our understanding of the concept of verbal politeness. Through observation and audio recordings of 31 patients (16 female and 15 male) who are categorized as younger or older than the doctor, one doctor’s conversation was analyzed within the context of five politeness strategies and politeness/solidarity criterion in a radio-diagnostic clinic. The study affirms that the doctor uses ‘Bald on Record’ strategy with both male and female patients. However, in the category of female older patients ‘Negative Politeness’ are recorded while Positive Politeness’ strategies are observed with female younger patients. As a whole, employed strategies from most direct to indirect ranged in parallel with the factors of age and gender. Moreover, the results have shown that except for the group of younger females, the doctor prefers an attitude of solidarity with all patients.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Linguistic Politeness, Doctor-Patient Communication, Conversation Analysis

Kaynakça

• Al-Momani, H. (2009). Caught Between Two Cultures: The Realization of Requests by Jordanian EFL Learners. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Indiana University of Pennsylvania: Indiana.
• Bazzocchi, M. (2012). Doctor-patient communication in radiology: a great opportunity for future radiology. Radio med, 117, 339-353.
• Brown, P. & Levinson, S. C. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Burke, S.E. (2008). The Doctor-Patient Relationship: An Exploration of Traniee Doctors’ Views. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The University of Birmingham, Birmingham.
• Chen, R., He, L., and Hu, C. (2013). Chinese requests: In comparison to American and Japanese requests and with reference to the “East-West divide”. Journal of Pragmatics, 55, 140-161.
• Davis. D. (2010). Simple but not always easy: Improving doctor-patient communication. Journal of Communication in Healthcare 3(3-4), 240-245.
• Eelen, G. (2001). A Critique of Politeness Theories. Manchester: St. Jerome's Press.
• Hall, J.A., Roter, D.L. & Rand, C.S. (1981). Communication of Affect between Patient and Physician. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 22(1), 18-30. Retrieved on Dec, 22, 2013 from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2136365
• Ijas, T. (2009). Book Review [Review of the book The Dynamic Consultation: A Discourse Analytical Study of Doctor–Patient Communication, by M. Cordella & J. Benjamins]. Journal of Pragmatics, 41, 854-856.
• Khan, F. (2008). An Islamic Appraisal of Minding the Gap: Psycho-Spiritual Dynamics in the Doctor-Patient Relationship. Jornal of Religious Ethics. 36(1), 77-96.
• Morand, D.A. (2000). Language and power: an empirical analysis of linguistic strategies used in superior-subordinate communication. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 21, 235-248.
• Neeman, N., Isaac, T., Leveille, S., Dimonda, C., Shin, J.Y., Aronson, M. D., and Freedman, S.D. (2012). Improving doctor-patient communication in the outpatient setting using a facilitation tool: a preliminary study. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 24(4), 357- 364. doi: 10.1093/intqhc/mzr081
• Nevala, M. (2004). Accessing Politeness Axes: Forms of address and terms of reference in early English correspondence. Journal of Pragmatics, 36, 2125-60.
• Sirota, K. G. (2004). Positive politeness as discourse process: Politeness practices of high-functioning children with autism and Asperger syndrome. Discourse Studies, 6(2), 229-241.
• Stewart, M.A., McWhinney, I.R. & Buck, C.W. (1979). The doctor/patient relationship and its effect upon outcome. Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 29(199), 77-82. Retrieved on Dec, 25, 2013 from: http://pubmedcentralcanada.ca/pmcc/articles/PMC2159129/
• Verlinde, E., Laender, N.D, Maesschalck, S.D., Deveugele, M. & Willems, S. (2012). The social gradient in doctor-patient communication. International Journal for Equity in Health, 11 (12), 1-14. doi: 10.1186/1475-9276-11-12
• Wardhaugh, R. (2006). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics (5th ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
• Yin, C.P., Hsu, C.W., Kuo, F.Y., and Huang, Y.T. (2012). A study of politeness strategies adopted in pediatric clinics in Taiwan. Health Commun, 27 (6), 53345. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2011.617241
• Zibande, S. (2005). A comparative analysis of politeness strategies employed by Turkish and American academicians. (Unpublished Master’s Thesis). Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon.