From the literature I’ve read on discourse analysis, it seems to be the study and scrutiny of language (spoken or unspoken e.g. body language) used in a social setting, in order to better understand a given issue or topic of particular (research) interest. It seeks to identify the meaning behind things, i.e. not what exactly people say but the motive behind what they, the social and cultural dimensions that influence these and how they are in turn interpreted by the other parties involved.
I found an interesting paper1 that described a study in which discourse analysis was used to observe antenatal mid-wife led consultations with diabetic women in Norway. It focussed on the conversations that took place between the diabetic mothers-to-be and the midwife, with each interview being audio taped and transcribed word for word.
From analysis of the paper and the conclusions drawn, it was clear that the different ways in which the midwife and the women communicated gave rise to different degrees of opportunity for the women in question to share their concerns. Depending on what and how it was said by the midwife, the women felt able to or unable to fully voice their concerns, and this could be noticed in the language they in turn used.
In my opinion, this is not only true for the exact case in question, but I feel we can all draw on it.
- As doctors and other health professionals, the way in which we frame conversations in our consultations will have subtle yet profound effects on their outcome, whether favourable and satisfactory, or not, for all parties involved.
- When dealing with particularly sensitive issues as this, where we are able to predict anxiety levels in patients, we should construct our speech in such a way as to fulfil our own necessary agenda for the meeting but also be sensitive and empathetic enough to give room for the patient to voice their own concerns. We as professionals need to consider which style of behaviour best suits women and others in equally vulnerable situations.
1 Experts’ encounters in Antenatal Diabetes care: A Descriptive Study of Verbal Communication in Midwife-led consultations - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3362960/